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.

April 25, 2006

The Hockey News - Apr-25-06

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TOM TIMMERMANN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03966/9037788-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="872" height="643"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he end of Al MacInnis&rsquo;s playing days came as quick as one of his slapshots. He suffered an eye injury just three games into the 2003-04 season and never played again, though, because of the lockout, it wasn&rsquo;t until the start of this season he officially retired. So when the Blues retired his No. 2 on April 9, it was a chance for the fans to salute MacInnis and for him to say goodbye.</p><p>&ldquo;It was pretty emotional and a little bit overwhelming,&rdquo; said MacInnis after the ceremony at which 19,090 fans, the second-largest crowd for the Blues this season, showed up. &ldquo;I never got a chance to say thank you to the fans and tonight I got that chance.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04667/9037781-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="236" height="356"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Al MacInnis</b></figcaption></div><p>The Blues lifted MacInnis&rsquo;s number to the rafters at Savvis Center to hang alongside Bob Gassoff &rsquo;s No. 3, Barclay Plager&rsquo;s No. 8, Brian Sutter&rsquo;s No. 11 and Bernie Federko&rsquo;s No. 24.</p><p>MacInnis was joined on the ice for the 45-minute pre-game ceremony by his wife and four children. During the warmups, all the Blues players wore No. 2.MacInnis entered the ice to bagpipe music &ndash; &ldquo;my parents&rsquo; favorite instrument,&rdquo; he said &ndash; and got a huge ovation.</p><p>&ldquo;When I came out, the ovation, I just had chills down my spine,&rdquo;MacInnis said. &ldquo;And then watching the banner go up, you never dream of this stuff.&rdquo;</p><p>MacInnis played only 10 of his 23 NHL seasons with the Blues. He won the Stanley Cup with his other NHL team, Calgary in 1989, but he has become part of the St. Louis hockey landscape. He won the Norris Trophy as a Blue in 1999. He finished with 340 goals, the third-most by a defenseman, and 934 assists, the 12th-most overall.</p><p>&ldquo;I felt I played my best hockey as a Blue, even if it was the second half of my career,&rdquo;MacInnis said. &ldquo;This is just a great city to play in.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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DEPARTMENTS

Al MacInnis: No. 2 with bullet

<div class="byline">By DAVID BOCLAIR</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04461/9038791-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="968" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KARIYA: SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03627/9038798-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="200" height="219"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Usually, it&rsquo;s because of Tomas Vokoun. But the star goalie is done for the season due to a blood condition, leaving backup Chris Mason and prospect Pekka Rinne to carry the load. If there&rsquo;s any good news, it&rsquo;s that the loss of Vokoun won&rsquo;t impact the team&rsquo;s work ethic, speed and forechecking ability.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> An undersized, skillful defense corps can be overwhelmed by physical forwards, a problem lessened by Brendan Witt (acquired at the trade deadline). And they can&rsquo;t stay out of the sin bin, averaging over 18 penalty minutes per game.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Losing Vokoun is a crushing blow. Can Mason step up? And, at the other end, do the Preds have enough firepower to score when things tighten up? In their four playoff losses to Detroit in 2004, they scored just three goals.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Paul Kariya, Danny Markov, Mike Sillinger, Yanic Perreault and Witt (all newcomers) have a combined 211 games of playoff experience. In 2003-04, the entire roster had 247.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Nashville ended the season with 26 players on its roster, rotating forwards in and out of the lineup based on matchups. Scott Hartnell is among the team leaders in goals and among league leaders in game-winners, but often plays on the third line.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Any discussion of the Preds begins and ends with Vokoun, so losing him is devastating. Mason, 30, has 38 NHL games to his credit, none in the playoffs.</p><p><b>COACH BARRY TROTZ SAYS</b> &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a little bit of a jigsaw puzzle, and you think, &lsquo;This guy had 40 points and this guy had 10 points, (so) the guy with 40 points should be the better player.&rsquo; Well, he may be the better player, but he might not be the better player for the situation that we&rsquo;re playing in.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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COVER STORY

PREDATORS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PAUL SHAHEEN</div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>hough Waterloo failed to make the playoffs this year, there were plenty other post-season performances the club could be proud of. Former Blackhawks Ross Carlson and Joe Pavelski played crucial roles in Wisconsin&rsquo;s march to the 2006 Frozen Four title. Carlson scored a critical shorthanded tally versus Maine in the semifinal, while Pavelski, who finished as the Badgers&rsquo; leading scorer with 56 points, assisted twice in Wisconsin&rsquo;s 2-1 championship game win over Boston College. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re great kids,&rdquo; beamed Blackhawks coach P.K. O&rsquo;Handley. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t be more proud of them.&rdquo; A junior, Carlson is an NHL free agent, while Wisconsin native Pavelski, named a second-team West all-America, is property of San Jose.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0744/9040899-1-eng-US/f0051-072.jpg" title="f0051-07" width="209" height="65"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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Waterloo contributes to Wisconsin’s win

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01757/9039334-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>D.C.&rsquo;S FINEST</b></p><p>A young Caps team matured under Glen Hanlon this season.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(HANLON: MITCHELL LAYTON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02450/9039327-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="167" height="211"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE COACHES</b> As the run for the Stanley Cup nears, we look at the men behind the players. Mike Babcock had a successful debut campaign in Detroit, where the ex-trapper found some loaded guns to play with, while Columbus&rsquo;s Gerard Gallant and Washington&rsquo;s Glen Hanlon went for more modest goals by simply building up their teams. Others, such as Toronto&rsquo;s Pat Quinn and Vancouver&rsquo;s Marc Crawford, may be looking for work soon.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Bench bosses prepare for playoffs – or the golf course

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012072/9037349-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(COVER: DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES; CONTENTS: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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IN THIS ISSUE

Century man

<div class="byline">Jason Kay</div><p><b>K</b>en Dryden. Andy Moog. Mike Vernon. Chris Osgood. These are all the precedents&rsquo; men.</p><p>While it&rsquo;s true goaltenders still hold an inordinate amount of influence in NHL games, it&rsquo;s a myth you need a sensational, proven netminder to win the Stanley Cup. It helps to have Martin Brodeur or Patrick Roy, but it&rsquo;s not imperative.</p><p>And it&rsquo;s that line of thinking that has us in the Ottawa Senators&rsquo; corner as Stanley Cup favorite, no matter who&rsquo;s tending goal for them this spring.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012051/9037387-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="350" height="525"></div><p>A quick history review tells us: Dryden was a rookie with six NHL games&rsquo; experience when he backboned the Canadiens to Stanley Cup glory in 1971; Moog platooned with Grant Fuhr during the Oilers&rsquo; first championship run in 1984; Vernon ranked 33rd in save percentage in 1997, the year he led Detroit to the title; and Osgood quieted all the critics the following season by anchoring the Wings&rsquo; repeat.</p><p>Besides, odds are decent the masked men vying for the Cup this spring will be green. Other than Brodeur, the playoff-bound Eastern Conference goalies could fit their post-season experience in a thimble. Of the top contenders in the West, only Miikka Kiprusoff (and Osgood, should he play) has the &lsquo;been-there, done-that&rsquo; T-shirt.</p><p>We believe the Senators have enough talent, grit and depth to get by if their netminding proves steady rather than spectacular. And we&rsquo;re confident should Dominik Hasek not be ready to go, Ray Emery, the NHL rookie and defensive player of the month for March, is capable of steady.</p><p>Senior writer Mike Brophy expands on why we believe the Sens are the sensible choice <i>(see pg. 16).</i> Of course, there are 15 other teams who will try to prove us wrong and we&rsquo;ve chronicled their chances in this special Playoff Preview edition.</p><p>If you&rsquo;re a numbers-muncher, you&rsquo;ll want to digest the statistical analysis we did <i>(pg. 37)</i> of this year&rsquo;s playoff-bound teams. We examined the past nine Cup winners to see how their regular season performance might foretell playoff success. The notable trends include: a top-five finish overall; a top three finish in either team offense or team defense; a solid road record; and, the 2000 Devils notwithstanding, a strong last quarter of the regular season.</p><p>By these measures, the Detroit Red Wings are the clear front-runners, ranking first in offense, fourth in defense and first overall. They&rsquo;re deadly on the power play, are one of the best road teams in the history of the NHL and, from March 9 through April 8, hadn&rsquo;t lost in regulation in any arena. The numbers heavily tilt in their favor. The wild card this year, however, is the schedule format. Having feasted on St. Louis, Chicago and Columbus (19-1-2), it begs the question: how inflated, if at all, are the Wings&rsquo; stats?</p><p>Also bear in mind our pick, Ottawa, ranks second in offense, defense and points. They can win in any environment and, despite a late-season flat tire, are still rolling towards the finish. They may not win the Presidents&rsquo; Trophy, but we like them in the precedents&rsquo; debate.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021730/9037380-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="459" height="246"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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It just makes Sens

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031421/9037418-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="928" height="1420"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NO PAIN, NO GAIN</b></p><p>Peter Forsberg&rsquo;s rugged playing style sometimes puts the star in harm&rsquo;s way.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Who&rsquo;s hurting now?</b></p><p>NHL injury disclosure is like tax season and the return of mosquitoes: They all pop up every spring. But if a player has an upper-body injury or a mid-lower-body injury or a sore big toe, does it really matter? To some of us, led by senior editor Brian Costello, it matters a lot. Costello believes the NHL&rsquo;s lack of a mandatory injury disclosure policy is an insult to its most important clients &ndash; the fans &ndash; who pay good money to see the best players pay. If they can&rsquo;t, fans deserve to know why. On the other side of the disclosure divide, editor Jason Kay and others argue that teams need to be able to cover up injuries to prevent players from becoming targets. We all agree it&rsquo;s a hurtin&rsquo; debate to have every year, sure to be revisited in the spring of 2007.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0004-03

IN THE NEWSROOM

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-012051/9037487-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="532" height="532"></div><h2><b>PITT OF DESPAIR</b></h2><h3><b>A PENGUINS FAN&rsquo;S LAMENT</b></h3><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n response to the biased representation of Pittsburgh via fans in New York and Winnipeg in last week&rsquo;s issue, I present the following retort:</p><p>This Penguins team has been hard to watch for years not because they are icing bad teams, but because we fans have been forced to endure watching our star players leave en masse (Jagr, Kovalev, Straka, Lang, Francis, Kasparaitis) due to the same circumstances partly outlined by the fan from Winnipeg: not enough resources to compete due to an old arena in a small market.</p><p>Our arena problem is compounded by the fact the governor of Pennsylvania is a Philadelphia man (they already <i>got</i> their new arena).</p><p>If Mr. New York is correct, Craig Patrick shelled out millions of dollars to players he knew would either retire mid-season or mimic Alexandre Daigle&rsquo;s promise-turned-bust career in order to secure yet another top pick. Lemieux, Palffy, Gonchar, Recchi, LeClair&hellip;not to mention Crosby.</p><p>In short, I think I speak for most of Pittsburgh when I say, give me a break!</p><p><b>James Carns, Pittsburgh</b></p><h2><b>FUTURE STARS</b></h2><h3><b>KIDS LOVE THN</b></h3><p>I am writing to you on behalf of my Grade 4 class. This year I introduced The Hockey News into my reading program. There are a number of reluctant readers in the class and THN has been a great tool to reach them.</p><p>Not only are they reading, they are reinforcing math concepts with statistics, decimals, and fractions. The students really enjoy reading about their favorite players, their favorite teams, the standings, stats and even the cartoons.</p><p>Thank you and keep up the great work!</p><p><b>Mr. Potts&rsquo; Grade 4 class, Waverley Public School, Bowmanville, Ont.</b></p><h2><b>WAR ROOM FIGHT</b></h2><h3><b>PUT AWAY THE SNACKS, GUYS</b></h3><p>Thank you for a great article on the NHL war room (March 28). It shows there is the technology in place to see almost everything that goes on.</p><p>That being said, how does Daniel Briere get suspended for an errant high stick when he is falling down after being blatantly slashed from behind? How does Darcy Tucker <i>not</i> get suspended for his attempted head shot and successful knee take-out on Jochen Hecht? How does play resume in Minnesota after a crucial goal that was wrongly disallowed on the Oilers?</p><p>Kris King was quoted saying it was OK to eat during games now. I think those guys should put their dipping sauce away and actually start watching the games!</p><p><b>Ross Cole, Ingersoll, Ont.</b></p><h3><b>OILERS GET BURNED</b></h3><p>I thought there could be nothing worse than being subjected to the Leafs every Saturday, but apparently there is: Edmonton playing eight games against the Minnesota Wild. And the only thing worse than that is being denied a lead and a chance to make the game exciting by the video goal judge.</p><p>I thought that any inconclusive or close calls would go through the "NHL war room" (as reported in the March 28th issue) and they would make sure to get it right. Apparently video goal judge Ian Sandercock didn&rsquo;t get that issue.</p><p><b>Rick Langlois, Ottawa</b></p><h2><b>RUFF TRADE</b></h2><h3><b>NHL SHOULD FINE COACH</b></h3><p>Why was it OK for Lindy Ruff to go ballistic with the media about the hit that Darcy Tucker made on Jochen Hecht? Ruff was looking for a suspension on Tucker, but shouldn't the league be reviewing Ruff&rsquo;s antics on public television?</p><p>Maybe Tucker did deserve a suspension, but the league obviously didn't think so. I think there should have at least been a review of the way Ruff conducted himself after the game. Players should be responsible for their actions on the ice, but so should the coaches. I believe the league should have reprimanded Ruff for his actions or at least fined him. What example is he setting for other coaches in minor systems?</p><p><b>Mark Palumbo, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021477/9037480-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="509" height="776"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mike Babcock</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>LETTER OF THE WEEK</b></h2><p><b>Presidential re-count</b></p><p>I have a problem with this year&rsquo;s likely Presidents&rsquo; Trophy winner &ndash; the Detroit Red Wings. In the past, the trophy was awarded to the best team in the NHL, with teams playing similar schedules.</p><p>However, this year the teams are not playing compatible schedules. In all likelihood Detroit will win because it has beaten up three of the worst teams in the league. Nashville is the only other Central Division team to post a winning record.</p><p>The rules for winning the Presidents&rsquo; Trophy should be adjusted to account for the difficulty of the schedule &ndash; or else rename it the Presidents&rsquo; Paper Cup award for being the best team in the worst division in the NHL!</p><p><b>Ron Welte, Frisco, Tex.</b></p><h2><b>GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?</b></h2><p><b>CANADA</b> Letters, The Hockey News, 25 Sheppard Avenue West, Suite 100, Toronto, Ont., M2N 6S7</p><p><b>USA</b> Letters, The Hockey News, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y., 14240-9947</p><p><b>E-MAIL</b> <a href="mailto:letters@thehockeynews.com">letters@thehockeynews.com</a></p><p><b>WEB</b> <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a></p><p>Include your name, hometown, & province/state. Submissions will be edited.</p><h2><b>POLL RESULTS</b></h2><p><b><a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></b></p><p><b>What points system should the NHL use next season?</b></p><p>Keep current system <b>39%</b></p><p>Three points for reg. win; two points OT/SO win; one point OT loss <b>32%</b></p><p>Two points for win; no points for OT/SO loss <b>29%</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03953/9037473-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="437" height="496"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0005-01

Letters

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAVID BOCLAIR</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021507/9037532-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Chris Mason</b> <span class="photo-credit">(MASON: SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>C</b>hris Mason has had a lot of sleepless nights recently.</p><p>But it&rsquo;s not the pressure of being the Predators&rsquo; No. 1 goalie for the final days of the regular season and the playoffs that has him tossing and turning. It&rsquo;s the thrill of it all.</p><p>&ldquo;Usually after I play, I don&rsquo;t get a lot of sleep,&rdquo;Mason said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just so jacked up after a game.&rdquo;</p><p>He has slept like a baby for much of the past two NHL seasons. As the backup to Tomas Vokoun, Mason appeared in just 17 contests in 2003-04 and 15 more prior to April 1 this season.</p><p>It was then that Vokoun, who has averaged 68 appearances over the past three seasons, experienced back spasms following a victory over St. Louis and ultimately was diagnosed with a season-ending blood clot condition. That thrust Mason into the starring role for a team that has allowed the fifth-most shots in the NHL this season and has one of the smallest goal differentials among this year&rsquo;s playoff participants.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012270/9037539-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="224" height="249"></div><p>In his first game as Nashville&rsquo;s No. 1, Mason shut out the St. Louis Blues 2-0.</p><p>&ldquo;I know Chris really well, he&rsquo;s not going to run from any pressure or fear or anything like that,&rdquo; said Preds coach Barry Trotz. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to embrace it and go forward.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s important to note that Mason is not some wide-eyed kid thrown in to a situation where he is certain to be overmatched. He is 29 years old, the same age as Vokoun, and originally was drafted in 1995 by the New Jersey Devils, an organization that has shown an eye for talent.</p><p>Also much like Vokoun, who spent his first four-and-a-half years in Nashville behind Mike Dunham, Mason has been the consummate backup whose practice efforts and attitude have endeared him to everyone in the organization.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody thought (Dunham) was a great goalie, which he was,&rdquo; said right winger Scott Walker. &ldquo;And everybody thought Tomas was a great guy, working hard and battling in practice. It&rsquo;s very similar to (Mason). Guys like to go to battle for guys who are good team guys.&rdquo;</p><p>Mason was in the Nashville system for the first three seasons of the franchise&rsquo;s existence, but then was not offered a new deal because other goalies had been drafted. A year later, though, the Predators jumped at the opportunity to get him back and claimed him in the 2003 waiver draft.</p><p>Mason will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and suddenly has the opportunity to earn a full-time job &ndash; and the sizable contract that goes with it. The timing could not be better given that he and his wife, Courtney, are expecting their first child later this year. One way or another, there&rsquo;s going to be a lot more sleepless nights in his future.</p><h2><b>EMERY&rsquo;S RINKS</b></h2><p><b>Ray Emery</b> has excelled subbing for Dominik Hasek, but 22 consecutive starts? Why wouldn&rsquo;t Ottawa coach Bryan Murray give Emery a rest, knowing he may need him for the playoffs?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03874/9037525-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="544" height="562"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(EMERY: PHILLIP MACCALLUM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>HITTING LINKS</b></h2><p>It&rsquo;s a great day for&hellip;golf! We salute the 14 non-playoff teams with our best wishes for the season. For the next four months, may all your drives be straight and your chips on the green, not off the glass.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04536/9037518-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="485" height="458"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SMYTH: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>FORTY WINKS</b></h2><p><b>Ryan Smyth</b> and the Edmonton Oilers lost eight of 12 post-Olympic games against non-playoff teams. Is it any wonder they were fighting for their playoff lives in the dying days of the regular season?</p><h2><b>-32 NEGATIVE RETURNS</b></h2><p>Combined plus/minus for three of Toronto&rsquo;s off-season additions, Eric Lindros, Jason Allison and Alexander Khavanov. All three also are injured.</p><h2><b>45 EXTENDED BLUES JAM</b></h2><p>Minutes taken up by a pre-game ceremony for retired St. Louis defenseman Al MacInnis. The visiting Oilers fumed, and the Blues won, 2-1.</p><h2><b>6 COWBOY JUSTICE</b></h2><p>Months in jail and a $2,000 fine is the maximum penalty for public nudity in Calgary. Just so you know, Red Mile fans, the cops are getting ready.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-02

To the rescue

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021382/9037570-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="860" height="1331"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mats Sundin</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SUNDIN: DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012047/9037584-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="95" height="106"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-05393/9037577-1-eng-US/f0007-052.jpg" title="f0007-05" width="100" height="86"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>ice to see that the Washington Capitals and prospect <b>Alexander Semin</b> have kissed and made up. But when he failed to report to the minors in September of 2004, returning home to Russia instead, the Capitals said they would fine him $1,000 for every day he missed. By our count, he owes them $560,000.</p><p>If you want to beat the Calgary Flames, it&rsquo;s best to be leading after two periods. That&rsquo;s because the Flames allowed just 16 third period goals in the 22 games following the Olympic break.</p><p>It&rsquo;s not often the top goalie in the league is relegated to bench duty during the playoffs, but that&rsquo;s the likely scenario for Wilkes-Barre goalie <b>Dany Sabourin</b>. Sabourin was named winner of the 2005-06 Baz Bastien Memorial Award as top goalie in the American League after ranking first in goals-against average (2.30), second in save percentage (.921) and third in victories with a team-record 28. But none of that will do him much good when <b>Marc-Andre Fleury</b> is sent down from the parent Pittsburgh Penguins after the NHL regular season. Pittsburgh coach <b>Michel Therrien</b> has said he wants Fleury to get the experience of taking a team deep into the post-season.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Mats Sundin</b> has been sticking it to just about everyone since returning from the Olympics. The Leafs captain, who had a stick deal with one company, borrowed one of his old sticks &ndash; made by a competitor &ndash; during the Olympics and has been using the old brand ever since. In 21 post-Olympic NHL games, Sundin had 16 goals and 30 points, including four goals and six points against Florida April 11.</p><p>Hobey Baker Award winner <b>Matt Carle</b> has made an instant impression playing defense with the San Jose Sharks. He had two goals and four points in his first eight NHL games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0007-02

SNAPSHOTS from around the NHL

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RICH HAMMOND</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03878/9037615-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CAREER KING</b></p><p>Luc Robitaille is done with the NHL&hellip;as a player, at least. He&rsquo;ll likely work for L.A. in some capacity.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ROBITAILLE: SHELLY CASTELLANO)</span></figcaption></div><p>For a kid supposedly too slow and not physical enough to play in the NHL, Luc Robitaille did pretty well.</p><p>Robitaille came from meager beginnings, as a ninth round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 1984, but over the next two decades, he left an indelible mark on the league because of his deft scoring touch, his passion for the game and, off the ice, his generous philanthropist nature.</p><p>Robitaille, who had been held out of the Kings lineup as a healthy scratch a few times this season, announced his retirement April 11, effective at the end of the 2005-06 campaign. He leaves as the top-scoring left winger and 10th-leading goal-scorer in NHL history, and the top goal-scorer in franchise history for the Kings, the team with which he spent 14 of his 19 NHL seasons.</p><p>Robitaille, 40, also played for the Rangers and Penguins and won a Stanley Cup in 2002 with Detroit. But he made his mark in Los Angeles, where he&rsquo;s among the most popular players in team history.</p><p>&ldquo;I remember looking at a map (after the 1984 draft) and seeing how far L.A. was, and now this is my home,&rdquo; said Robitaille, a Montreal native. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a dream come true. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everybody who has ever touched me in the game of hockey.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>There were many big moments for Robitaille. In 1993, he helped the Kings reach their only Stanley Cup final. In 2002, he passed Bobby Hull&rsquo;s record of 611 goals for a left winger. And, in 2004, he passed Johnny Bucyk for most career points as a left winger, with 1,370.</p><p>One special moment for Robitaille was the night this past January when he broke Marcel Dionne&rsquo;s Kings record for 550 career goals. Robitaille recorded a hat trick in the game, and as he entered the dressing room after being recognized as the first star, his teammates rose from their stalls and gave him a standing ovation.</p><p>&ldquo;You guys will never know what that meant to me,&rsquo;&rsquo; Robitaille said.</p><p>The Kings will offer Robitaille a position in the organization, and he will also keep busy with Shelter For Serenity, the charity he started last year with his wife, Stacia, to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.</p><p>&ldquo;There have been a lot of Luc moments,&rsquo;&rsquo; said Mattias Norstrom. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing to be sad about. Luc is one of those guys who will walk out with his head up high.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0007-03

Robitaille hangs ’em up

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011952/9037660-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>Q <b>WE ASKED 30 NHL PLAYERS</b></p><p>Who is the NHL&rsquo;s MVP this season?</p><p><b>TOP VOTE GETTERS</b></p><p><b>JAROMIR JAGR 76.7%</b></p><p><b>MIIKKA KIPRUSOFF 6.7%</b></p><p><b>HENRIK LUNDQVIST 6.7.%</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021351/9037653-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="522" height="455"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Miikka Kiprusoff</b> <span class="photo-credit">(KIPRUSOFF: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03825/9037646-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="848" height="852"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JAROMIR JAGR 76.7%</b> <span class="photo-credit">(JAGR: CHRIS FULLER/ECHL IMAGES.COM)</span></figcaption></div><p>If some of Jaromir Jagr&rsquo;s peers didn&rsquo;t think much of his efforts when he was with the Washington Capitals, they sure like him now.</p><p>In a poll of 30 NHLers, one from each team, 23 picked the New York Rangers&rsquo; revitalized superstar as the most valuable player in the league this season.</p><p>Rangers rookie goalie Henrik Lundqvist and Calgary netminder Miikka Kiprusoff tied for second with two votes each, while Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson, Philadelphia center Peter Forsberg and San Jose center Joe Thornton received one vote each.</p><p>Players weren&rsquo;t allowed to vote for anyone on their own team.</p><p>&ldquo;I think Jaromir Jagr has been the best player,&rdquo; said Detroit&rsquo;s young star Henrik Zetterberg. &ldquo;Just a tremendous player, so big and strong, and still so much skill.&rdquo;</p><p>Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro isn&rsquo;t one to argue with that assessment.</p><p>&ldquo;Jagr, without doubt,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He killed us all year and I&rsquo;m assuming he was pretty good against everyone else, too.&rdquo;</p><p><b>FOR COMPLETE RESULTS VISIT <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

Player Poll

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-05469/9037705-1-eng-US/f0009-052.jpg" title="f0009-05" width="504" height="575"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TORRES: TIM SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>TAYLOR ENGEL, FROM QUILL LAKE, SASK., ASKS If you could improve one part of your game, what would it be?</b></p><p>&ldquo;My defensive game. Playing defensive hockey is a big part of the game and I'd like to be known as a well-rounded player.&rdquo;</p><p><b>JESSICA FRILAK, FROM MORINVILLE, ALTA., ASKS What do you do to break out of a scoring slump?</b></p><p>&ldquo;I try and simplify my game and not get too tied up in thinking about how to change things. Playing my game and being prepared every night will help me break out of any slump.&rdquo;</p><p><b>JORDAN DOBROHOCZKI, FROM MIDDLE LAKE, SASK., ASKS Who is the hardest goaltender to play against in the NHL and why?</b></p><p>&ldquo;Martin Brodeur. He's so big and covers so much net, it&rsquo;s hard to find an open hole. His career speaks for itself.&rdquo;</p><p><b>PAT ABRAMI, FROM BROOKLYN, N.Y., ASKS Everyone is talking about the difference in play between the Eastern and Western Conferences. Having played for teams in both, have you seen a difference, and if so, how?</b></p><p>&ldquo;I would say the Western Conference is much faster and definitely more physical, which suits me just fine. I like to crash and bang and get right in the middle of things.&rdquo;</p><p><b>BENSEN GILBERT, FROM SUDBURY, ONT., ASKS How can I ask a coach for more ice time?</b></p><p>&ldquo;Don't ask, just prove it to them by the way you play. Give a hard, honest effort every game and things should take care of themselves.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-06392/9037698-1-eng-US/f0009-062.jpg" title="f0009-06" width="507" height="770"></div><p><b>VISIT <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></b></p><p><b>TO ASK YOUR QUESTIONS OF NHL STARS!</b></p><p><b><a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-05

FAN SHOOTOUT WITH Raffi Torres

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012138/9037743-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Calgary&rsquo;s Darren McCarty has some serious off-ice challenges ahead of him. <span class="photo-credit">(MCCARTY: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>MCCARTY FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>algary Flames winger Darren McCarty has outstanding debts to friends, casinos, banks and credit card companies, according to papers filed in November with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit. McCarty lists assets of $1.9 million and debts of $6.2 million, according to the Detroit <i>Free Press</i>. McCarty&rsquo;s lawyer attributes the financial troubles to a recent divorce, lost income from the NHL lockout and a smaller contract with the Flames ($850,000) compared to what McCarty had been earning with Detroit ($2.1 million). An avid poker enthusiast, McCarty owes $100,000 to the Bellagio casino and $60,000 to the Palms casino, both in Las Vegas, as well as $25,000 to a casino in Detroit. The largest creditors listed are DMA Holdings of Portage, Mich., owed $2 million, and Huntington National Bank of Bloomfield Hills, owed $1.5 million.</p><h2><b>NEW SWEATERS DELAYED</b></h2><p>The NHL is shelving plans to introduce form-fitting sweaters until 2007-08 so it can get more input from players. According to <i>SportsBusiness Journal,</i> the change of direction came at the request of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association. &ldquo;This is a fundamental change for us,&rdquo; said union official Ken Kim. &ldquo;We want to make sure it&rsquo;s right and that everyone feels like they were a part of the change.&rdquo; The NHL had been hoping to unveil the Reebok-designed sweaters this season, but the few times NHL players tried them &ndash; such as at the Canadian Olympic team orientation camp last summer &ndash; they were deemed to be too tight and restricting.</p><h2><b>LOTTERY TO DECIDE TOP PICK</b></h2><p>The lottery determining selection order for the 2006 NHL entry draft will be held April 20 in New York. The 14 non-playoff teams will be participating, with the worst five clubs having a chance at the first pick. No team can move up more than four spots in the draft as a result of winning the lottery. The last-place team, either the Pittsburgh Penguins or St. Louis Blues, have a 48.2 per-cent chance of retaining the first selection. The entry draft will be held June 24 in Vancouver.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021545/9037736-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="236" height="285"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>David Frost</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ST. LOUIS: DILIP VISHWANAT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>FROST: OVER AND OUT</b></h2><p>Former NHL player agent David Frost said he is done with junior hockey. Frost told a Pembroke, Ont.-based newspaper, <i>The Daily Observer</i>, that he is finished hanging around the Pembroke Lumber Kings, a Jr. A team majority owned by client Sheldon Keefe, after players said he wasn&rsquo;t wanted. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m leaving and nobody will see me in this city again,&rdquo; Frost said. &ldquo;I might stop by for a game here and there, but I will never ever be involved with a junior hockey team again.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

HOCKEY WORLD IN BRIEF

<h2><b>THIS WEEK WE ASKED OURSELVES</b></h2><p>Which all-time playmakers took &ldquo;Passover&rdquo; literally?</p><h3><b>10 .758</b></h3><p><b>Jaromir Jagr</b> Career assists-per-game makes him the Easter Bunny for his linemates.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-05482/9037882-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="183" height="201"></div><h3><b>9 .761</b></h3><p><b>Bernie Federko</b> Former St. Louis Blues great also led league in whiskers-to-assists ratio.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-06365/9037875-1-eng-US/f0010-062.jpg" title="f0010-06" width="184" height="202"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ST. LOUIS: DILIP VISHWANAT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h3><b>8 .772</b></h3><p><b>Marcel Dionne</b> &lsquo;Triple Crown Line&rsquo; ace was always dressed for Easter in purple and gold.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-07260/9037868-1-eng-US/f0010-072.jpg" title="f0010-07" width="183" height="207"></div><h3><b>7 .806</b></h3><p><b>Paul Coffey</b> Speedy Oilers defenseman made a living dishing to fellow Hall of Famers.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-08193/9037861-1-eng-US/f0010-082.jpg" title="f0010-08" width="183" height="208"></div><h3><b>6 .807</b></h3><p><b>Adam Oates</b> Ironically, his assists ratio is the same as Brett Hull&rsquo;s goals ratio. Coincidence?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-09148/9037854-1-eng-US/f0010-092.jpg" title="f0010-09" width="183" height="207"></div><h3><b>5 .808</b></h3><p><b>Peter Stastny</b> Now a politician, Stastny helps people cash in more than ever.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-10125/9037847-1-eng-US/f0010-102.jpg" title="f0010-10" width="183" height="208"></div><h3><b>4 .909</b></h3><p><b>Peter Forsberg</b> Anyone who allows fans to call him &lsquo;Foppa&rsquo; must be charitable.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-11102/9037840-1-eng-US/f0010-112.jpg" title="f0010-11" width="183" height="208"></div><h3><b>3 .982</b></h3><p><b>Bobby Orr</b> Would have been higher if he didn&rsquo;t stop to pose for so many pictures in mid-air.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1280/9037833-1-eng-US/f0010-122.jpg" title="f0010-12" width="161" height="208"></div><h3><b>2 1.13</b></h3><p><b>Mario Lemieux</b> His next assist could be helping old ladies at the slot machines.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1357/9037826-1-eng-US/f0010-132.jpg" title="f0010-13" width="184" height="208"></div><h3><b>1 1.32</b></h3><p><b>Wayne Gretzky</b> So proficient, he almost passed on the Phoenix coaching job.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-1446/9037819-1-eng-US/f0010-142.jpg" title="f0010-14" width="183" height="208"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0010-05

COUNTDOWN

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span></b>etween the video goal booths and television production trucks and the high-tech NHL war room in Toronto, the technology exists to get goal calls right. It&rsquo;s the meshing together that doesn&rsquo;t always go so smoothly.</p><p>That&rsquo;s faint consolation to any Oilers fans who were sitting at home on the living room sofa, comfortably watching the Minnesota-Edmonton game April 6, before throwing a lamp through the TV set early in the second period.</p><p>We know what these folks are thinking. They&rsquo;re thinking the video goal judge in Minnesota and the video review war room staffers in Toronto are idiots. Slow-motion replays clearly showed the Oilers scoring, with Michael Peca&rsquo;s shot well behind the goal line before Manny Fernandez shoveled it out, but the goal didn&rsquo;t count in a 2- 1 Oilers shootout loss.</p><p>The video review judge and the war room guys understand how people might feel that way. They also feel it&rsquo;s only fair you get their side of the story. First, some background:</p><p>The video review booths in all 30 NHL rinks have a direct feed from the overhead cameras positioned above either goal. The overhead camera in Minnesota was working on the night in question, and so was the $200 digital recorder. But other issues were at play.</p><p>1) The digital recorders in the video goal judge suites do not provide the same frames-per-second quality as the high-end, tens-of-thousands-of-dollar models in the TV production trucks. On the play in question, the fraction of a second when the puck was actually in the net turned out to be between frames in the video goal booth. Based on what he saw, the video goal judge made the correct call.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012081/9037913-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="311" height="353"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>The NHL needs to work with networks to ensure all relevant reviews are shown as quickly as possible.</b></blockquote><p>2) The war room in Toronto does not have access to the in-rink overhead camera. The war room relies entirely on footage and camera angles aired by the networks covering the game. It does not (at this time) have the authority to call into production trucks to order specific replays.</p><p>3) Networks have to pay to get access to the overhead camera angle. On the night in question, they chose not to.</p><p>4) The side-angle replay showing the puck in the net wasn&rsquo;t aired by the networks &ndash; and consequently, wasn&rsquo;t seen by the war room &ndash; until after the war room had decided the inhouse overhead review evidence was inconclusive, and play had restarted. After that, it&rsquo;s too late to go back.</p><p>To prevent a repeat during the playoffs, the NHL should ensure networks pick up overhead camera feeds for all games. The NHL also needs to work with networks &ndash; as new broadcasting head John Shannon is said to be doing &ndash; to ensure all relevant replays are aired as quickly as possible. And in the summer, a full review.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

The goal that wasn’t

f0012-02

Elston

<div class="byline">JAY GREENBERG </div><div class="byline">Columnist</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011871/9037982-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Harvey the Hound</b> Calgary Flames</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021316/9037989-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="216" height="262"></div><p><b>L</b>ike most of the fans the NHL undeservedly failed to alienate a year ago, I found plenty other things to do between October and March.</p><p>Of course it was easier for me, now being a general sports columnist and also working in New York, where six other pro teams were still playing. Then too, I naively thought there would be a settlement in January and playoffs in April, just like in 1995. When it didn&rsquo;t happen, I turned back to the basketball game without a bit of anger, declaring the NHL had earned all the apathy it was going to get.</p><p>Pretty smug on my part. April came and I felt a bigger hole than the one between Patrick Lalime&rsquo;s legs</p><p>I missed the playoffs, missed them as badly as the Capitals miss them by 30 points. I missed the mood swings created by each goal, missed the tension and urgency as much as 14 teams &ndash; that&rsquo;s about 280 players &ndash; in normal springs miss the essential reason why they play.</p><p>It&rsquo;s not for the money, not when the average salary is $1.5 million and the grand payoff after four rounds of emotional and physical exhaustion usually is a little over $100,000. That&rsquo;s a princely sum to minimum salary players, sure. But watch the millionaires kill themselves for no better reason than it hurts to go out in the first round and hurts to get to the finals and fall just short. But it hurts most of all to not have a chance at all because the nature of this game is that, usually, you do.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03963/9037975-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="236" height="356"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Denis Gauthier</b> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>If you can get your goalie hot, you have a chance for a round, maybe two, because there is always a John Druce or a Mike Crombeen in the right spot at the right time. Every series has potential for nobodies to become somebody, but more essentially every series has somebody who previously failed in a similar pivotal spot trying to live it down. Like spring itself, the playoffs are about re-birth.</p><p>The players always changed in Calgary, but for so long, the result never did in Round 1, Game 7 overtime. Of course, when the Flames started to miss the playoffs, those Game 6s started to be remembered fondly. But two springs ago the Flames were back in it finally, in overtime and about to blow it again when the reason the fans had stayed glued through years of dread finally occurred. This time, they got the goal that made all the pain worthwhile, went all the way to Game 7 of the final only to get their hearts broken again.</p><p>You need cruel losses to make the wins feel especially good, need to see redemption to make it seem possible in your own life.</p><p>To contrive finality during the regular season, the NHL has put in overtime gimmicks changing the essential nature of the sport. In the playoffs, they still play the same game until somebody scores and wins. The longer it goes, the better it gets, too.</p><p>That&rsquo;s because the regular season is about creating entertainment and the playoffs are the essence of why we care. They play for a Cup so persons like myself can ask the people who win it what that&rsquo;s like, so basically, they can tell you it&rsquo;s too good to describe. We settle for that, too, because we invest so much emotion into just watching them try, it seems beyond our imagination anyway.</p><p>That&rsquo;s how the Stanley Cup playoffs nail us worse than Denis Gauthier from behind, leave us doubled over and still signed up for more. I can only assume the emptiness in your 2005 spring was deeper than Jacques Lemaire ever ordered a team to dump the puck, and longer than most Blackhawk fans think they can stand to be patient.</p><p>But eventually they&rsquo;ll be back, like we are now. Shameful as it was there wasn&rsquo;t a Cup rewarded last year, time off to miss it has turned out to be hardly misspent.</p><p>Now, we&rsquo;ll love the playoffs all the more.</p><h2><b>ODDS OF UPSET</b></h2><p>Since the NHL went to 1-vs.-8 conference playoff seedings in 1999, the No. 7 seeds have had the most upset success.</p><p>58% The No. 7 seed has upset the No. 2 seed 7 times in 12 series</p><p>33% The No. 6 seed has upset the No. 3 seed 4 times in 12 series</p><p>25% The No. 8 seed has upset the No. 1 seed 3 times in 12 series</p><p>17% The No. 5 seed has upset the No. 4 seed 2 times in 12 series<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-01

Playoffs to live and love

<div class="byline">MARK BRENDER </div><div class="byline">The Hockey News</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021551/9038027-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ROUGHIN&rsquo; IT</b></p><p>Players will have to be more careful with the rough stuff in the new NHL&rsquo;s post-season dance.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012059/9038034-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="216" height="256"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;Hockey is a man&rsquo;s game. The team with the most real men wins.&rdquo;</i><br><b>&ndash; Brian Burke</b></blockquote><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span></b>our years ago, during a rough-and-tumble playoff series between Vancouver and Detroit, then-Canucks GM Brian Burke called a press conference to inform NHL referees that, contrary to popular belief, &ldquo;Sedin isn&rsquo;t Swedish for &lsquo;Punch me and headlock me in a scrum.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>NHL sources report that Burke, now GM of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, is updating his post-season sermon for the new, all-holds-barred NHL. Some of the talking points include: &ldquo;Vishnevski is not Russian for &lsquo;Tug me gently from behind under my armpit&rsquo;&hellip; Pahlsson is not Swedish for &lsquo;Illegally impede my progress after a faceoff&rsquo;&hellip; Selanne is not Finnish for &lsquo;Please take a dive when my stick brushes your ankle.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Evidently, you&rsquo;ve got to move with the times. This rules clampdown is for the best. That&rsquo;s what everyone keeps saying and deep down there&rsquo;s no denying NHL hockey is the better for it. Really, as dress rehearsals go, the past seven months have been dandy. There was a nice pace to the action, more space on the players&rsquo; stage, tighter enforcement from the zebras to stop all those glad-to-be-here third- and fourth-liner extras from gumming up the works.</p><p>But let&rsquo;s remember, a dress rehearsal is all it was.</p><p>That&rsquo;s always the way it is with the NHL regular season. Teams play 82 games and win as many as they can to have the chance to win the 16 that matter. Four rounds, four wins per, each of them a bloody turf war contested under an entirely different set of rules. Man&rsquo;s rules, some might call it.</p><p>At least, that&rsquo;s the way it used to be. And now, on the eve of the postseason, there&rsquo;s something nagging at the playoff conscience.</p><p>You know that audio track used to demonstrate Dolby sound at the movies? The one that starts as a low hum and finishes with your head stuck inside a boom box? That&rsquo;s the roar of the Stanley Cup playoffs. So here&rsquo;s the question: What does playoff intensity mean in the spring of 2006 when jacked-up juices in the traditional hockey sense are likely to land you in the penalty box?</p><p>What are coaches supposed to say to prepare the boys for all the clich&eacute;s, two months of pounding and ice packs and paying the price? Go get &rsquo;em, fellas, and by the way, when you&rsquo;re in the corner in the last minute of the third period in a tie game, be sure to keep your free hand on the damn stick?</p><p>What standards are referees to use when there is heavier hitting, harder forechecking, more ferocious battles than we saw down the stretch drive? We wouldn&rsquo;t want it any other way in the playoffs&hellip;right? But nobody knows what we&rsquo;re going to get.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve talked with some teammates, I&rsquo;ve talked with friends that watch a lot of hockey,&rdquo; says Detroit forward Kris Draper, a veteran of 148 playoffs games. &ldquo;And we&rsquo;re really almost going into an unknown.&rdquo;</p><p>Dallas coach Dave Tippett says his players were terrified to check anybody under the new rules during the first few days of training camp. &ldquo;Then we jumped in and said, &lsquo;All right, you can&rsquo;t do this, but you can still be competitive. You&rsquo;ve got to be competitive.&rsquo; So as soon as the competitive juices started flowing more, we saw the sticks and the penalties come back.&rdquo;</p><p>In the playoffs, the stakes of taking those penalties are higher.</p><p>&ldquo;So here&rsquo;s where we are in a regular season, you get away with it,&rdquo; Tippett says, &ldquo;but all of a sudden you get a revved up playoff game where that&rsquo;s ultra-competitive, where do we go from there? I think the players have adjusted, a lot, but I think the biggest test is still to come&hellip;There&rsquo;s going to be some emotional, frustrating times.&rdquo;</p><p>Others feel fantastic about the the product to come.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s still a man&rsquo;s game,&rdquo; insists Burke, while acknowledging he wants to see battles return to the front of the net. &ldquo;This hockey now, between the new rules and these (playoff) races, this is as exciting as it&rsquo;s been in this league in decades. It&rsquo;s just outstanding&hellip;Teams will still need to be physical to advance.&rdquo;</p><p>Look, nobody wants a return to the playoffs as football-on-skates. The let-the-players-decide-it mentality led to a terrible erosion of hockey&rsquo;s skill and beauty in the post-season. If a player gains an advantage legally, no one should be able to take it away illegally without being penalized.</p><p>As San Jose GM Doug Wilson puts it, &ldquo;You shouldn&rsquo;t have to build two different types of teams.&rdquo;</p><p>So an argument can be made that for players and coaches alike, the new playoff landscape is just another test of mental toughness. The team best prepared and with the best commitment to play it hard and play it clean &ndash; &ldquo;maximum intensity, maximum smarts&rdquo; as Tippett puts it &ndash; deserves to win. But it&rsquo;s a fine, fine line for a man&rsquo;s game to walk.</p><p>&ldquo;Can you imagine winning the Stanley Cup on a 5-on-3? It&rsquo;s like, that&rsquo;s unheard of,&rdquo; Draper says.</p><p>Asked if he thinks the new rules during the playoffs are a positive development, Draper replies: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a good thing, as crazy as that sounds.&rdquo;</p><p>Yet there&rsquo;s a wistfulness in his voice that says, whatever happens, something won&rsquo;t be the same.</p><h2><b>PLAYING IT CLEAN</b></h2><p>The NHL&rsquo;s six-least penalized teams, listed below by PIM per game, are all playoff bound.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031066/9038020-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="512" height="357"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0014-02

New territory for everyone

<div class="byline">MIKE BROPHY </div><div class="byline">Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011836/9038086-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CP PHOTO/JONATHAN HAYWARD)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011622/9038093-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="216" height="260"></div><p><b>A</b> few years ago Daniel Alfredsson boldly announced his Ottawa Senators would win the Stanley Cup.</p><p>Then, a few days later, he backed off his ambitious statement by saying something to the affect of, &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t say this year.&rdquo;</p><p>The Senators, of course, have not won a Stanley Cup; at least not since 1927. The current incarnation of the Ottawa Senators has yet to even make it to the final since joining the league in 1992-93.</p><p>So, any predictions for us this year, Daniel?</p><p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; Alfredsson says with a chuckle.</p><p>You&rsquo;re out of the prediction-making business?</p><p>&ldquo;Not exactly,&rdquo; he continues. &ldquo;I think it will be a great playoffs. There will be some upsets, as always, and it&rsquo;s going to be really fun playing in the playoffs and watching the other games as well.&rdquo;</p><p>OK, if you won&rsquo;t say your team is going to win the Stanley Cup, Daniel, we&rsquo;ll say it for you. With all due respect to a number of contenders in the new NHL, the Senators have what it takes to win the Cup, particularly since their nemesis, the Toronto Maple Leafs, aren&rsquo;t going to the dance. And to think, not long ago Ottawa&rsquo;s Stanley Cup was simply to get past the Leafs, who sent them golfing in four of the past five seasons.</p><p>Now, before you say the Senators don&rsquo;t have a chance if No. 1 goalie Dominik Hasek doesn&rsquo;t return from his groin injury, it must be said that rookie Ray Emery has proven himself to be good enough to carry the load. When a team is as good as the Senators, it doesn&rsquo;t necessarily need great goaltending to win it all; it just needs its goalie not to <i>lose</i> games. The Senators will be fine.</p><p>&ldquo;You need at least good goaltending and in the past that may have been one of the shortcomings I experienced,&rdquo; says Ottawa coach Bryan Murray. &ldquo;The other team&rsquo;s goalies played just a tad better than my goalies. We&rsquo;re hoping that just good goaltending this time will be adequate.&rdquo;</p><p>Alfredsson says his team is quietly confident about its chances in the post-season.</p><p>&ldquo;The biggest thing entering the playoffs is, we know we have a team that can win it all,&rdquo; Alfredsson says. &ldquo;But you need a lot of things to go right for you. You need to be healthy and you need to have a little good luck. More than anything, you need to play well in big games.</p><p>&ldquo;We feel this is a good opportunity for this group and we&rsquo;re going to try to make the most it and see what happens.&rdquo;</p><p>This group, as Alfredsson puts it, contains some the NHL&rsquo;s most dangerous scorers.</p><p>Dany Heatley, who has revived his career in Ottawa, ranked fourth in league scoring, having set the team record for goals in a season with 48 and totalling 97 points in 78 games. Alfredsson, himself, who had established single-season highs in goals (41) and points (95) with four games remaining, was seventh in league scoring. Super playmaker Jason Spezza, despite missing 14 games with a chest injury, had 68 assists and 86 points in 64 games.</p><p>And that is just the tip of the iceberg. No team comes close to matching the Senators&rsquo; scoring depth up front with the likes of Peter Schaefer, Bryan Smolinski, newly acquired Tyler Arnason, Antoine Vermette, Patrick Eaves, Mike Fisher and even tough guy Chris Neil capable of lightning it up on any given night.</p><p>What is even more astounding is the fact the Senators also have one of the best and deepest bluelines in the NHL.</p><p>Wade Redden and Zdeno Chara are bona fide stars, solid at both ends of the rink, while Chris Phillips, Brian Pothier, Anton Volchenkov and rookie Andrej Meszaros, who is among the NHL leaders at plus-35, are all rock-solid.</p><p>Bryan Murray has coached and managed great teams in the past, most recently taking the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to the final as GM in 2003. But this year, he says, is different.</p><p>&ldquo;No. 1, I think our defensive corps is as good as I&rsquo;ve ever had&hellip;the depth of it,&rdquo; Murray says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had some good individual players on the blueline like (Rod) Langway and (Scott) Stevens, but to have the depth that we have is a little more than I&rsquo;ve had in the past. If we get everybody back, we have a lot of depth up front, too, with a lot of scoring ability.&rdquo;</p><p>The Senators, like all teams, will face some distractions, such as if and when will Hasek be back; and, can the team afford to sign both Chara and Redden, who will be unrestricted free agents in the summer. But Murray says it should not affect the way the team plays on the ice.</p><p>&ldquo;We just try to focus now on the team,&rdquo; Murray says. &ldquo;Obviously we&rsquo;re affected somewhat by what people say, but mostly we just play. As a coach, all you can do is prepare and play.&rdquo;</p><p>Before the season began, we chose the Philadelphia Flyers as our Cup favorite. And why not? They added superstar Peter Forsberg, along with monster defensemen Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje and big, scoring winger Mike Knuble, as well as a handful of blue chip prospects. That had us convinced the season would be nothing more than a formality. Just hand them the Cup.</p><p>The Flyers, though, have been woefully inconsistent. Injuries have taken a toll and there was never really a point during the season where it looked like they would ultimately live up to expectations. The thing about the Flyers is, you can&rsquo;t dismiss them completely because they have so much talent they are entirely capable of kicking it into gear and winning every game they play. In that regard, coach Ken Hitchcock may face his greatest challenge ever.</p><p>Other teams capable of upsetting the Senators include the Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes. People waiting for the Prague Rangers to fold their tents in the playoffs may be disappointed. If goalie Henrik Lundqvist and superstar Jaromir Jagr, the NHL&rsquo;s most valuable player, live up to their potential, they&rsquo;ll be a tough opponent for anybody. And don&rsquo;t discount the work their grunt players do, either.</p><p>While the Hurricanes have only played .500 hockey down the stretch, they, too, will not be a desirable opponent for anyone in the opening round.</p><p>As for the 2004 Stanley Cup-champion Lightning, unless goalie John Grahame goes to bed one night and wakes up the next morning as Bernie Parent, Tampa Bay doesn&rsquo;t stand a chance of repeating. The other finalist from two years ago, the Calgary Flames, have put a lot of trust in goalie Miikka Kiprusoff and may rue the day they failed to find an offense-minded center to play with Jarome Iginla.</p><p>While we think the Stanley Cup champion will come from the Eastern Conference, the most interesting and competitive hockey is in the West, where the team that finishes eighth &ndash; the San Jose Sharks, in all likelihood &ndash; could be a threat to make it all the way to the final.</p><p>Detroit and Dallas, the cream of the Western crop, both look like potential conference champions, but it won&rsquo;t be an easy trail to the final.</p><p>&ldquo;What people don&rsquo;t understand when a team from the East wins the Cup is, the Western Conference teams kick the crap out of each other just trying to make it to the final,&rdquo; says Edmonton defenseman Chris Pronger.</p><p>Looking for a dark horse? Try Pronger&rsquo;s Oilers &ndash; if they made the playoffs, that is. With three games remaining in the regular season, the Oilers were sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference. The additions of defenseman Jaroslav Spacek and left winger Sergei Samsonov have added experience and skill at both ends. If Dwayne Roloson offers up solid goaltending, the Oilers certainly could pull off a first round upset.</p><p>And if that happens, they could go on a roll similar to the one the Flames went on two years ago.</p><p>Will being the Cup favorite make life tough for the Senators?</p><p>&ldquo;It can&rsquo;t matter that much, if we let outside factors be that big of a deal,&rdquo;Murray says.</p><p>&ldquo;But I think, from a confidence point of view, we talk about what we have to do and to have other people recognize a certain ability level doesn&rsquo;t hurt.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>STAT SHOT</b></h2><p>Here&rsquo;s how teams that were still in the playoff picture through April 10 compare in goals scored per game, goals against per game and overall record in overtime and shootouts.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011715/9038079-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="560" height="922"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021311/9038072-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="560" height="922"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03952/9038065-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="560" height="922"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0016-01

NEW SENSATION

f0017-02

Stanley Cup Odds

<div class="byline">- Mike Brophy</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04644/9038155-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="680" height="1025"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mike Leggo</b> <span class="photo-credit">(LEGGO: JEFF VINNICK/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Ahook is a hook is a hook. Same goes for holding, interference and all the other obstruction fouls the NHL clamped down on this season.</p><p>And if you think that will change when the playoffs roll around, you had better think again. Just ask Stephen Walkom. Again.</p><p>&ldquo;Aren&rsquo;t you sick of talking about this by now?&rdquo; laughs Walkom, the NHL&rsquo;s supervisor of officials who has worked hard to make sure his crew has maintained a high standard for calling obstruction fouls this season. &ldquo;Our guys are committed to it. They have been committed to it all year.</p><p>&ldquo;Obviously when the games get tough and the games get close, and there are playoff ramifications, there is a lot of interest in how the games are called. But we just want the guys to go out and if they see it, call it.&rdquo;</p><p>That has not always been the case in the NHL where cheaters were rewarded and the game&rsquo;s most skilled players took a back seat to grinders and pluggers at the most important time of the season. The lesser-skilled players who interfere and clutch and grab often had a greater affect on the outcome of games than more talented players.</p><p>Those days, Walkom insists, are gone for good.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve tried to give a consistent message and I hope we&rsquo;re making believers out of people,&rdquo; Walkom says. &ldquo;Our team of officials have done a good job and the guys who continue to do a good job will move forward in the playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p>The NHL will open the playoffs with 22 referees and 19 linesmen and the numbers will decrease through the four rounds. It will be 14 and 10 in the second round; nine and eight in the third round and four and four in the Stanley Cup final.</p><p>Walkom says he won&rsquo;t announce the playoff officials until the regular season concludes.</p><p>&ldquo;Our focus is on the remaining games,&rdquo; he says.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-04

Standard will remain

<div class="byline">By LARRY BROOKS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011553/9038186-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>GARDEN PARTY</b></p><p>Jaromir Jagr celebrates his team-record 53rd goal with linemate Martin Straka.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(STEVE BABINEAU/SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span></b>even seasons of off-Broadway was more than enough time for hockey&rsquo;s greatest play to find its way back to the biggest, brightest stage in the States.</p><p>Seven seasons of waiting seemed like a lifetime for Rangers fans who must have come to believe the franchise had sold its soul in 1994 in exchange for the end of the 54-year Stanley Cup drought.</p><p>The waiting is over. The playoffs are coming to the Garden. The playoffs are coming to Broadway for the first time since 1997, when the names over the marquee were Gretzky, Messier, Leetch and Richter.</p><p>The waiting is over for the fans. The waiting is over for the organization.</p><p>And the waiting is over for the NHL, which, true enough, does indeed like to pretend that all markets are created equal, but knows in its heart of hearts the league has never been more popular than it was in 1994 when the Blueshirts captured the imagination of the city and rode it through ticker tape on the parade route through New York&rsquo;s historic Canyon of Heroes.</p><p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s great for hockey,&rdquo; said a perhaps biased Jaromir Jagr. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to get a lot of attention now, and that can only be good. The New York Rangers have so many fans everywhere. Hopefully we can do some damage in the playoffs and give them something to cheer about for two months.&rdquo;</p><p>They staged a revival on Broadway, and it is Jagr&rsquo;s name that appears above the title; No. 68, and Henrik Lundqvist. It was Jagr who, on the first day of camp, with his team projected to be a cellar dweller, all but guaranteed a Ranger return to the promised land.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think this is a rebuilding year, no way,&rdquo; he said back on Sept. 12. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no doubt in my mind we&rsquo;re going to make the playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p>And when they clinched the spot, Jagr simply said: &ldquo;Our biggest advantage was nobody believed we could do damage in this league, so we could play our game no matter what without ever panicking. Everybody was expecting us to lose, anyway.&rdquo;</p><p>The Rangers had lost and lost for years, and let&rsquo;s face it, not only on the ice, but in the marketplace, where the losing finally got old, and the cancelled 2004-05 season relegated hockey to the sports page equivalent of the obituaries. The NHL may have rebounded brilliantly in many of its markets, but not in New York, where the Yankees have carved a year-round, 24/7 empire in the years since the NHL playoffs last came to town.</p><p>The Garden is sold out pretty much every game, and the ticket is getting hotter than the 24-year-old matinee idol and Olympic champion King Henrik himself, but the Rangers and NHL have lost an inconceivable amount of space in print in New York that will be extremely difficult to recover. For instance, when the team clinched its spot, the Rangers were the back page of the comparably hockey-friendly New York <i>Post</i> for the first time this season &ndash; only to be bumped in the final edition by the Yankees&rsquo; loss in Oakland in the second game of the season.</p><p>The time, however, is now for this interactive team of Blue Collar Blueshirts &ndash; you have caught the post-game salute to the crowd, have you not? The one where the team gathers at center ice after every home victory to raise its sticks in appreciation to the fans? To grab the attention of the city, and, by extension, to carry the league with it.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>There&rsquo;s no doubt in my mind we&rsquo;re going to make the playoffs</b>&nbsp;<br>Jaromir Jagr, back on Sept. 12</blockquote><p>They did it once before, carrying the NHL through the artificial ice ceiling under which it had always operated in the U.S. It will be more difficult this time. The environment has changed. The lockout and cancelled season happened. But then, this is a team that has thrived on the impossible.</p><p>Tell Jagr the Rangers can&rsquo;t make an impact in New York this spring. Then watch him reply. Hockey&rsquo;s biggest act is coming to Broadway.</p><p>About time.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0019-01

The waiting is over in NYC

<div class="byline">RICK NASH </div><div class="byline">In the First Person</div><div class="byline">&#x2013; WITH MARK BRENDER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021081/9038224-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NASH DANCE</b></p><p>Rick Nash would love an invitation to the NHL&rsquo;s spring fling next year.</p></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011477/9038231-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="212" height="270"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b>n Columbus, we can take pride in having finished the season with some good results instead of going out with a whimper. But the reality is, when you don&rsquo;t qualify for the playoffs, the end of the year is going to bring bittersweet feelings no matter what you do.</p><p>We didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs because we had a lot of injuries early and got off to a slow start. It&rsquo;s too bad, because based on our past few months we know we can compete with many of the teams going to the post-season.</p><p>For me personally, it means I&rsquo;ll have to wait another year at least for the chance to play my first NHL playoff game.</p><p>This non-playoff year will be a little different for me than in 2003 and 2004, though. Not only are we out, but with a week left in the season it looked an awful lot like the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to be out as well. Being a Toronto-area boy myself, that&rsquo;s not good.</p><p>The Leafs are the only team I ever cheer for after the regular season is over. In past years I&rsquo;ve watched the Leafs in the playoffs on <i>Hockey Night in Canada</i> with some buddies back home. Growing up, I lived for <i>Hockey Night in Canada</i>. Saturday nights were always booked.</p><h2><b>FOND MEMORIES</b></h2><p>I remember watching the Leafs-San Jose Sharks conference semifinal series in 1994; Doug Gilmour&rsquo;s wraparound goal on St. Louis&rsquo;s Curtis Joseph in 1993; and, of course, the Leafs-Kings semifinal in the next round, when Wayne Gretzky got away with the high stick on Doug Gilmour. No Leafs fan can ever forget that one.</p><p>So if the Blue Jackets don&rsquo;t win the Stanley Cup, I&rsquo;d love to see the Leafs win it for Toronto. I&rsquo;ve been waiting a while, just like everyone who lives in the city. Clearly, it&rsquo;s not going to happen this year.</p><p>Without the Leafs to watch, my buddies are going to be lost. They&rsquo;re bummed out now, I&rsquo;m sure, but they&rsquo;ll probably hop on the Ottawa or Calgary bandwagons instead. They&rsquo;ll turn into Canada fans instead of Leaf fans.</p><p>I won&rsquo;t be cheering for anyone in particular, although I always think it&rsquo;s great to see guys win the Cup who have never won it before. That&rsquo;s the dream of every kid growing up in Canada and it&rsquo;s still mine. There&rsquo;s nothing like seeing it come true for somebody new.</p><p>As for predictions, I usually just tend to go with the favorites. One of the obvious favorites is Detroit. Some people say that because of their schedule the Wings aren&rsquo;t as good as their record suggests. I don&rsquo;t agree. Every division and every team&rsquo;s schedule has its so-called easy parts. I think the standings are a good indicator of where teams stand.</p><h2><b>TIGHT IN WEST</b></h2><p>If I had to make picks for the conference finals, I&rsquo;d take Detroit against Dallas in the West, but I also like Calgary and Nashville as well. I&rsquo;m not as familiar with everything that&rsquo;s been going on in the Eastern Conference, but Philadelphia and Tampa are two teams I think could do well.</p><p>Hockey is my life and my passion, so I&rsquo;ll stay tuned in to the post-season to see what&rsquo;s going on right until the end. I know some people say the playoffs go on too long and that the NHL should find a way to end the season before mid-June, but I never have trouble watching.</p><p>The problem is, for the guys playing in the final, I can imagine it must be an awfully short summer. Having just two months off to rest and recuperate before having to get back to hard workouts and training camp wouldn&rsquo;t be much time.</p><p>But I figure it would be well worth it if you walk home with the Cup. Winning the Cup would be worth everything. Someday I want to find that out for myself.</p><h2><b>REGULAR GUYS</b></h2><p>Here are the 10 active NHL players with the most regular season games, but no playoff experience. (Games through April 10.)</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03785/9038217-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="352" height="553"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0020-02

Eyes still fixed on the prize

<div class="byline">By DAVID VEST </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011203/9038269-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>PLAYOFF ROOKIE</b></p><p>Playing on the top line, Kristian Huselius could light it up in his playoff debut for the Flames.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(NICK LAHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>E</b>very once in a while, an NHL player makes a name for himself when it matters most: during the Stanley Cup playoffs.</p><p>Anaheim&rsquo;s Jean-Sebastien Giguere in 2003 and Miikka Kiprusoff for Calgary in 2004 quickly come to mind. Here is a list of 10 players with the potential to become the next (unlikely) Stanley Cup hero.</p><h2><b>EASTERN CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>Tyler Arnason, Ottawa</b> Arnason contributed little offense after being acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline and earned little trust from the Senators coaches. But his potential is undeniable. The 27-year-old must make an impact in the postseason if he hopes to be re-signed after the season.</p><p><b>Martin Gerber, Carolina</b> The Swiss goalie has only 20 minutes of playoff experience, but his confidence should be high after faring well at the Olympics, where he shut out Team Canada in a brilliant performance. Carolina&rsquo;s defense corps is not the team&rsquo;s strength, so Gerber needs to play well if the Canes are to win more than a series or two.</p><p><b>Cristobal Huet, Montreal</b> The 30-year-old goalie never has played in the NHL post-season, but seems poised to make a big splash given how well he has performed since replacing the ineffective and since-departed Jose Theodore. Huet posted seven shutouts in his first 32 games and keyed Montreal&rsquo;s run to the playoffs.</p><p><b>Freddy Meyer, Philadelphia</b> The rookie defenseman is averaging about 17 minutes per game since the trade that sent Dennis Seidenberg to Phoenix. He is plus-11 and gets plenty of power play time &ndash; pretty impressive for the guy who was ninth on Philadelphia&rsquo;s depth chart heading into training camp.</p><p><b>Petr Sykora, NY Rangers</b> With all eyes on likely Hart Trophy winner Jaromir Jagr and rookie goalie Henrik Lundqvist, don&rsquo;t be surprised if Sykora has another head turning post-season like he did in 1999-2000, when he notched nine goals to help lead New Jersey to the Stanley Cup.</p><h2><b>WESTERN CONFERENCE</b></h2><p><b>Niklas Kronwall, Detroit</b> The talented rookie defenseman missed almost all of the pre-Olympic portion of the season because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury. That may end up helping Kronwall&rsquo;s stamina as the Wings progress into the post-season. He&rsquo;s intelligent, fast and tough.</p><p><b>Mike Sillinger, Nashville</b> The Predators acquired Sillinger, who has played in just 33 playoff games during his lengthy career, because he can score, win faceoffs and kill penalties. His versatility could take Nashville deep into the post-season.</p><p><b>Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim</b> The 20-year-old center has developed quickly in his first NHL season and has been effective while playing the point on the power play. Getzlaf set a team rookie record for power play goals when he scored his ninth in just his 49th game.</p><p><b>Kristian Huselius, Calgary</b> The Swedish winger spent his first four NHL seasons with the Florida Panthers, so his playoff resume is blank. Coach Darryl Sutter had good results from Huselius after placing him on the top unit with Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow.</p><p><b>Georges Laraque, Edmonton</b> The Oilers tough guy usually thrives in the post-season when he keeps his gloves on and creates havoc for opposing defensemen by throwing his 243 pounds at them. Laraque likely won&rsquo;t score many goals, but his presence could be a huge factor for Edmonton.</p><h2><b>14</b></h2><p><b>Unheralded rookie John Druce scored 14 goals in 15 playoff games for the Washington Capitals in 1990.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02791/9038262-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="200" height="286"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0021-01

Stepping up in the crunch

<div class="byline">JAMES DUTHIE </div><div class="byline">Guest columnist</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-021012/9038307-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>Eric Staal</b></p><p><b>Paul Kariya</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(BOTH: GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011361/9038314-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="214" height="251"></div><p><b>I</b> have seen the future of the NHL final and it is&hellip;Nashville and Carolina?!?</p><p>(And that sound you hear is NBC president Robert C. Wright throwing up.)</p><p>Look, it&rsquo;s as likely a final as any other right now. Two young, fast, exciting teams. The hockey would be outstanding.</p><p>And the ratings would be&hellip;umm&hellip;wow&hellip;geez&hellip;gulp.</p><p>Wire Story: Mid-June, 2006</p><p>Nashville, Tennessee</p><p>(AP) Steve Sullivan notched his second hat trick of the playoffs as the Nashville Predators edged Carolina 8-7 in overtime to force a seventh and deciding game in the most exciting Stanley Cup final in history.</p><p>The game featured furious end-to-end action, nine lead changes, and several mind-boggling saves.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a incredible feeling,&rdquo; Sullivan told the three reporters still covering the playoffs (actually two, the other guy just happened to be in town for a Nascar race).</p><p>Seems most media bailed after the major market teams were eliminated in the early rounds.</p><p>In fact, The Hockey News cover story the week the final began was: &ldquo;ECHL fall preview! Here come the Bakersfield Condors!&rdquo;</p><p>Even the diehard Canadian media contingent dispersed after the last of its teams, the Ottawa Senators, was eliminated by Carolina in the Eastern Conference final.</p><p>The Senators were cruising through the playoffs and led the series 3-0 until Dominik Hasek, Ray Emery and third-stringer Mike Morrison were injured when Zdeno Chara slipped on a bar of soap in the shower, crushing them.</p><p>The snake-bitten Senators were then forced to re-sign Patrick Lalime, a late-season cut of the St. Louis Blues (and fresh off knee-surgery) for the remainder of the series. After allowing 19 goals on 23 shots over their next three games, the Sens elected to forfeit Game 7.</p><p>Canada&rsquo;s best hope from the Western Conference, the Calgary Flames, saw their Cup dreams fall apart early when goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, in an effort to win back angry Finnish fans, decided to sit out the playoffs to make sure he&rsquo;s healthy for the next Olympics.</p><p>Despite the lack of media coverage, the Predators&rsquo; dramatic Game 6 victory provided NBC with its highest numbers so far in the series, attracting a .00023 rating, just getting edged out by a rerun of &lsquo;Logarithms: The Lost Art!&rsquo; on <i>The Math Network</i>.</p><p>&ldquo;We think our new lead-in show really helped bolster the ratings,&rdquo; said beleaguered NBC president Wright.</p><p>The show is a new reality program called <i>We&rsquo;ll Pay You to Watch Hockey!</i> where Howie Mandel drops in on unsuspecting middle Americans and awards them huge cash prizes if they agree to watch the game.</p><p>The first three episodes have yet to produce a winner, though one guy named Steve in Iowa did watch half a period before going outside to clean his eavestrough.</p><p>NBC had previously been rebuffed by the NHL in its other attempts to boost ratings, including renaming the final <i>Law and Order:</i>&nbsp;<i>Special Teams Unit</i>, having Jason Lee from <i>My Name is Earl</i> play on Buffalo&rsquo;s third line, and, in lieu of overtime, getting <i>Fear Factor&rsquo;s</i> Joe Rogan to referee a cockroach licking contest between Paul Kariya and Eric Staal.</p><p>Game 7 is slated for Thursday in Nashville.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be awesome,&rdquo; says Hurricanes right winger Cory Stillman. &ldquo;The whole world will be watching.&rdquo;</p><p>Well&hellip;maybe not quite.</p><p><b>&ndash; James Duthie hosts the NHL on TSN and writes a column for <a href="http://tsn.ca">tsn.ca</a>. He will be covering the final no matter who is in it.</b></p><h2><b>MARKET WATCH</b></h2><p>There are more TV homes in New York than the bottom six markets combined. Here are the 13 U.S. playoff markets, listed in millions.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03770/9038300-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="641" height="706"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0022-02

Howie Mandel and hockey?

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02881/9038345-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>WILD WEST</b></p><p>Super powers Detroit and Dallas could be on course to meet in a Western showdown.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JOKINEN: RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011217/9038352-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>S</b>ixteen teams, 60 nights, 76 mysterious upper body injuries. The numbers are waltzing in our heads. Let these amazing games begin already.</p><p>The NHL playoffs are unique, a season after a season, when the intensity immediately hits a hard boil and is sustained for weeks on end. And everyone gets burned except the sole survivor.</p><p>After a year in which this treat was stolen from us, the post-season returns and promises to be as exciting as ever. In the ensuing pages, for the playoff-bound teams, we:</p><p>&bull; analyze how each club wins and how they&rsquo;re exposed</p><p>&bull; identify a pressing question that will be answered this spring</p><p>&bull; extrapolate a key stat that indicates how teams succeed or fail</p><p>&bull; examine team depth, a crucial component during the marathon</p><p>&bull; evaluate team goaltending, the single most important player on every team</p><p>In addition, we provide depth chart and power play information, give Stanley Cup odds and list players on the hot seat. At this time of year, that could pretty much be everyone, couldn&rsquo;t it?<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-02

Turning up the heat

<div class="byline">By DAN WOOD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04492/9038383-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="967" height="571"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GIGUERE: SHELLY CASTELLANO)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03663/9038390-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Anaheim&rsquo;s favored style is old-school, with a heavy reliance on solid defense and goalie J-S Giguere, winner of the 2003 Conn Smythe Trophy. The Ducks must skate and be strong on the forecheck to create enough offense to win.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> The biggest concern is penalties. The Ducks thrive when they stay out of the box and are among the best at even strength. Anaheim&rsquo;s penalty-killers are strong, but can&rsquo;t afford to be tested too often.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Rookies Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Chris Kunitz and Francois Beauchemin head a list of untested playoff performers that also includes blueliner Joe DiPenta and forwards Andy McDonald, Joffrey Lupul and Jonathan Hedstrom.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> As they will almost certainly begin on the road, the Ducks could use a repeat of 2003, when they opened each series in Detroit, Dallas and Minnesota by winning the first two games.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Anaheim doesn&rsquo;t have anyone among the league&rsquo;s top 10 scorers, although Teemu Selanne and McDonald are close, but the Ducks do have scoring threats sprinkled throughout the lineup, particularly if Getzlaf and Perry continue to make strides. There isn&rsquo;t much of a cushion on the blueline, where Scott Niedermayer, Beauchemin, Ruslan Salei and Sean O&rsquo;Donnell figure to carry the load.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> For whatever reason, Giguere often has been questioned since his remarkable playoff run three years ago. He struggled in &rsquo;03-04, but has been strong this year.</p><p><b>COACH RANDY CARLYLE SAYS</b> &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve stated all year that our players deserve a lot of credit because of their resiliency and their ability to work. They&rsquo;ve proven that night in, night out.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-04

MIGHTY DUCKS

<div class="byline">By JOHN MANASSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02949/9038421-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="967" height="571"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KOVALCHUK: SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011314/9038428-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Thrashers can score with the best of them &ndash; led by Ilya Kovalchuk, Marc Savard, Marian Hossa and Slava Kozlov &ndash; and have Kari Lehtonen to make up for any mistakes, providing he&rsquo;s healthy.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> When teams can control the puck in their end and make their forwards and defense work, the Thrashers are in trouble. A penchant for bad penalties that causes them to play much of a game killing them also has plagued the Thrashers.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> If Kovalchuk is at the top of his game, he can score in bunches and propel the Thrashers almost singlehandedly to victory. When he&rsquo;s not in the game mentally, he can be invisible; or, if he tries too hard to make things happen by himself, it can result in debilitating turnovers.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Lehtonen is unbeaten in overtime and shootouts in his brief career, going 8-0. The 22-year-old rookie loves big games.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Particularly on defense, the Thrashers are thin. Steve McCarthy was acquired at the trade deadline to help and has exceeded expectations. One or two key injuries could put the Thrashers in a big hole. Atlanta has good scoring depth, but center is another thin position.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Since returning from his groin-related problems, Lehtonen has lived up to the hype. At 18, he won a Finnish Elite League title. At 21, he led an average Chicago Wolves team to the AHL&rsquo;s Calder Cup final. He&rsquo;s a gamer. A word of caution: he was nursing a sprained ankle with about a week left in the regular season.</p><p><b>COACH BOB HARTLEY SAYS</b> &ldquo;Time is running out. We need great performances from everyone.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-02

THRASHERS

<div class="byline">By TIM GRAHAM</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04493/9038466-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="967" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MILLER: LEN REDKOLES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03681/9038473-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="200" height="219"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Sabres&rsquo; skating prowess is surpassed only by their selflessness. They owned the East&rsquo;s best power play and penalty kill for much of the season. And while they don&rsquo;t claim a single player among the top 65 scorers, they have 11 skaters with 30 points or more.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> The Sabres have struggled against the league&rsquo;s better-skating teams, and suffered through a late-season confidence crisis. They entered a March 18 game against the Senators one point behind the Northeast leaders and got walloped. They haven&rsquo;t played with the same edge since.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Post-season experience is a concern. They&rsquo;ve missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons, a franchise record. There are 13 players on Buffalo&rsquo;s roster, including both goalies, who have never experienced an NHL playoff game. Chris Drury, with 80 post-season games on his resume, has 10 more than his 20 teammates combined.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> The Sabres entered April having been outscored away from HSBC Arena, but still had a 23-13-3 road record.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Buffalo&rsquo;s ability to constantly dip into the AHL and find effective injury replacements has been remarkable, but the blueline is thin and can&rsquo;t sustain any additional injuries or funks.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Ryan Miller and Martin Biron, impeccable through the Olympic break, were shaky in the season&rsquo;s last third. The duo did, however, start to show signs of improvement entering the final few games.</p><p><b>COACH LINDY RUFF SAYS</b> &ldquo;This is a give and take. (The goaltenders) have been strong for us throughout the year. They&rsquo;re having a tough time, and now we need to support them.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-04

SABRES

<div class="byline">By RANDY SPORTAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06290/9038504-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="966" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(IGINLA: DALE MACMILLAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05357/9038511-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> First and foremost, Calgary wins with tenacity and grit. The Flames base their game plan on hard forechecking in the offensive zone; looking to pound teams into submission; and, strong defense solidified by goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.</p><p><b>HOW THEY'RE EXPOSED</b> Calgary&rsquo;s lack of scoring has been a major cause for concern throughout the regular season. They rank 27th out of 30 teams in goals per game (2.65) and last among playoff-bound teams. Without a clutch power play goal or making the most of a chance off a turnover, they&rsquo;re sunk.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Can they cope with being the hunted? The 2004 team was the underdog every series and thrived off that. This year&rsquo;s team won&rsquo;t be overlooked.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> In the first 21 games after the Olympic break, the Flames killed 88.1 per cent of their penalties and scored at a 19.2 per-cent clip on the power play.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Coach Darryl Sutter rolls four lines as much as possible, hoping to play a 5-on-5 game and wear down the opposition. Sutter is not afraid to play all six defensemen as much as possible.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Miikka Kiprusoff should be a shoo-in for the Vezina Trophy, ranking among the league leaders in goals-against average, save percentage, minutes played, shutouts and wins. Simply put, he gives the Flames the chance to win every game. If he goes down and the Flames are forced to turn to Brian Boucher, it could spell a quick end.</p><p><b>COACH DARRYL SUTTER SAYS</b> &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t make a big deal out of being in first place. I look at it more in how well we&rsquo;ve played and that we&rsquo;re in a playoff position.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-06

FLAMES

<div class="byline">By LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02835/9038542-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="967" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GERBER: RICK STEWART/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011179/9038549-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Canes base their game on puck pursuit and possession, attacking in transition and when set up in the offensive zone. They wear teams down for two periods, then capitalize in the third. They&rsquo;re also adept at taking advantage of the two-line pass.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> When Carolina brings less than its best effort, there are plenty of holes left to exploit. And while the Canes can grind, they&rsquo;re not a tough bunch.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Goalie Martin Gerber&rsquo;s playoff experience consists of 20 minutes in 2003. But he has been excellent in other high-pressure situations &ndash; in Sweden, where he won a title in 2002, and in international play for Switzerland.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Carolina has eight 50-point scorers, a team record. And that doesn&rsquo;t include Josef Vasicek, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer in 2003-04, who was hurt for most of the season but will be back for the playoffs.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Defensively, Carolina has eight players who average 15-to-20 minutes a game. They can mix and match on the blueline and often play seven defensemen. Up front, they&rsquo;re feeling the loss of Erik Cole, but Vasicek&rsquo;s return and the acquisition of Doug Weight and Mark Recchi gives them many scoring threats.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> While it may be Gerber&rsquo;s first post-season as an NHL No. 1, it was also his first season as an NHL starter and that turned out just fine.</p><p>With rookie Cam Ward as the backup, this is Gerber&rsquo;s team to carry as far as he can take it.</p><p><b>COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE SAYS</b> &ldquo;It makes it tough to stop a team when you can&rsquo;t focus on one line. One of our biggest strengths is that maybe one guy can&rsquo;t score every night, but somebody can score every night.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-02

HURRICANES

<div class="byline">By ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04401/9038587-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="967" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(THEODORE: CP IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03587/9038594-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Colorado&rsquo;s offense has been much better than expected, with the team in the top five in scoring all year. Five players have scored 20-plus goals and Colorado gets plenty of support from its defense. Rob Blake, John-Michael Liles and Brett Clark all have had good offensive seasons. The Avs still have a dangerous top line, led by ever-reliable Joe Sakic, to go with good special teams and a strong work ethic.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> Colorado can give up goals in bunches, which is partly why it sought goaltending help and acquired Jose Theodore. Defensemen Patrice Brisebois and Kurt Sauer can be liabilities in their own end, although Brisebois takes more abuse than he should. The Avs are a terrible faceoff team, regularly losing more than 50 per cent.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> That would be Theodore. Just back from injury, Theodore struggled in Montreal this season. Avs GM Pierre Lacroix believes a change of scenery will do for Theodore what it did for another ex-Hab, Patrick Roy.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Colorado is 4-10-1 against the West&rsquo;s three division leaders, Detroit, Dallas and Calgary.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The season-ending losses of Marek Svatos, Steve Konowalchuk and Ossi Vaananen have placed a huge strain on the remaining regulars. The Avs can&rsquo;t afford any more injuries.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Theodore has no time to ease into form. Rookie Peter Budaj has been up and down since the David Aebischer trade, shutting out teams one night and getting lit up the next. He has a tendency to get beat to the short side, but his quickness and agility are strong.</p><p><b>COACH JOEL QUENNEVILLE SAYS</b> &ldquo;This team has good chemistry. Overall, I like how we&rsquo;ve competed, but we have to do it every night.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-04

AVALANCHE

<div class="byline">By MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-06238/9038625-1-eng-US/f0025-062.jpg" title="f0025-06" width="967" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TURCO: DONALD MIRALLE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-05296/9038632-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg" title="f0025-05" width="200" height="216"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Dallas leads the NHL in fewest shots against per game (25.1) and there&rsquo;s good reason for that. The Stars have become a team that doesn&rsquo;t mind holding the puck and waiting for the right play. They also are a team anchored by goaltender Marty Turco, who directs traffic in his own end with great puckhandling that stymies the opposition&rsquo;s forecheck. Mix that in with balanced goal-scoring and the team wins a lot.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> The Stars are almost too patient. They don&rsquo;t mind playing a 1-0 game and they don&rsquo;t mind coming from behind (they&rsquo;re 12-17-1 when trailing after two periods). However, in games they do lose, they often are chasing hard in the third period and don&rsquo;t catch up.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> The Stars&rsquo; power play has come on ever since coach Dave Tippett moved Mike Modano from the half-boards to the point. Still, they have had their problems with the man advantage, especially when it&rsquo;s needed most.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> The Stars are 23-10-3 on the road and have received great play from their great players. Modano has 35 points in 36 away games; Jason Arnott has 34 in 39.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The improvement of the Finn line has given the Stars offensive depth. Niko Kapanen, Antti Miettinen and Niklas Hagman are hard-working and create a lot of turnovers. The fourth line offers physical play (Nathan Perrott and Jeremy Stevenson) or skill (Stu Barnes and Mathias Tjarnqvist or Jaroslav Svoboda). Dallas has seven strong defensemen.</p><p><b>COACH DAVE TIPPETT SAYS</b> &ldquo;We want to be able to adjust to any situation that&rsquo;s out there. We have our system and we are going to play our system, but we also realize that different games are played in different ways.&rsquo;&rsquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-06

STARS

<div class="byline">By ANSAR KHAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02812/9038663-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="560" height="572"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>ODDS OF WINNING CUP 4-1</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011215/9038670-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="200" height="216"></div><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> If hockey kept a stat for time of possession, the Wings would lead the NHL. Their puck-control game boasts some of the league&rsquo;s best stickhandlers, shooters and passers.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> They lack size, especially without defenseman Jiri Fischer. That could make them vulnerable against a physical club.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg have been spectacular during the regular season, but silent in the playoffs. Datsyuk hasn&rsquo;t scored in his past 21 post-season games; Zetterberg has just five points in 16 career playoff games. Both players also battled injuries leading up to the post-season.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> They have the NHL&rsquo;s best power play and their penalty-killing is in the top five.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The salary cap prevented the Wings from stockpiling the kind of depth they have had in the past, but they still boast three scoring lines and two solid sets of defensemen.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Manny Legace must show he can be as comfortable with the starter&rsquo;s tag as he was for years in the backup role. Chris Osgood, who has struggled at times adjusting to his new backup role, provides an experienced emergency option.</p><p><b>COACH MIKE BABCOCK SAYS</b> &ldquo;The key for me is playoff success, that&rsquo;s the whole thing, that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re about.&rsquo;&rsquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-02

RED WINGS

<div class="byline">By ROB TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04474/9038708-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="561" height="572"></div><p><b>ODDS OF WINNING CUP 40-1</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03616/9038715-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="201" height="207"></div><p><b>HOW THEY BEAT YOU</b> When they&rsquo;re playing with emotion and coming hard on the forecheck, the Oilers can be a handful &ndash; swarming teams with waves of fast-skating, hard-hitting depth. Chris Pronger, a wonderful addition in many areas, helps initiate the attack with his trademark first pass out of the defensive zone.</p><p><b>HOW THEY'RE EXPOSED</b> They can be lulled to sleep quite easily in the regular season, though don&rsquo;t count on that happening in the playoffs. Giveaways, soft goals and lack of finish are problems.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Raffi Torres fluctuates between very good and invisible. When he&rsquo;s invisible, Sergei Samsonov is more easily neutralized, rendering the second line ineffective. Torres needs to show up every game.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> The Oilers have the most overtime and shootout loss points (13) of all playoff teams. Unfortunately for the Oilers, there&rsquo;s no points for losing playoff games in OT.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The first two lines are fine, and a third that features Ethan Moreau, Michael Peca and Radek Dvorak is better than many. Don&rsquo;t expect much from the fourth line.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Edmonton&rsquo;s goaltending has been dismal all year. Dwayne Roloson has to pick up his game several notches to outduel a playoff goalie over seven games.</p><p><b>COACH CRAIG MACTAVISH SAYS</b> &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re playing not to be ninth, you&rsquo;re going to be happy to play whoever, just as long as you get in.&rsquo;&rsquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-04

OILERS

<div class="byline">By HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02863/9038746-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="968" height="573"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HUET: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011298/9038753-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Goaltending and quick puck movement. Cristobal Huet starred following the trade of Jose Theodore &ndash; and he had to behind this small but fast team. The Habs won seven in a row through late March and early April, thanks in large part to Huet&rsquo;s heroics. Montreal is also solid on the power play, ranking fifth overall.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> The Canadiens have an average set of defensemen. They&rsquo;re not overly big or physical, so they must rely on getting the puck out of their zone. In addition, their 23rd-ranked penalty kill must step it up in the playoffs against the Ottawas, Carolinas and Rangers or face an early exit.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> The Canadiens will go as far as Huet takes them, but he has no NHL playoff experience. Can he perform consistently every other night?</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Two seasons ago in the playoffs, Alex Kovalev was the Canadiens&rsquo; best forward, scoring six goals and 10 points in 11 games. A repeat performance is required.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The Canadiens are deep at forward and defense. Jan Bulis, Richard Zednik and Niklas Sundstrom, three decent forwards, weren&rsquo;t playing regularly down the stretch. When Francis Bouillon is healthy, Montreal has eight defensemen, including spares Todd Simpson and Mark Streit.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Huet put on a one-man show after Theodore&rsquo;s exit, proving to be unflappable and consistently good. Entering the final week of the season, he led the league in save percentage, and was second in goals-against average and shutouts &ndash; and all in less than half a season as the No. 1. Huet&rsquo;s teammates play have confidence with him in net.</p><p><b>COACH BOB GAINEY SAYS</b> &ldquo;Until we get to the playoffs, we&rsquo;re trying to get as many points as we can.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-02

CANADIENS

<div class="byline">By RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-06306/9038829-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="967" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ELIAS: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05361/9038836-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Devils go back to the pre-lockout NHL and play the kind of defense that results in low-scoring, tight-checking games. That isn&rsquo;t easy to maintain for an entire season, but they&rsquo;ve done it in big games.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> No longer are the Devils skilled at protecting leads. In the Scott Stevens/Scott Niedermayer era, they could sit on a one-goal lead and almost never collapsed. Those days are gone; the Devils have lost four games in overtime this season after leading through two periods.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Patrik Elias has overcome a lot this season and the Devils have to wonder if he will be able to make a difference in the playoffs. Hepatitis A kept him out until January and bruised ribs sustained at the Olympics side-lined him in early March. How close to his old self can he be when it&rsquo;s all on the line?</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> The NHL&rsquo;s new tie-breaker helped get the Devils into the playoffs. They won nine of their first 13 shootouts, but the 1-on-1 format won&rsquo;t be a part of the playoffs.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> The deadline additions of Brad Lukowich and Ken Klee gave the Devils much-needed depth on defense. Up front, the Devils would feel a lot better if Alex Mogilny was scaring goalies in the NHL, not the AHL (with Albany).</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> He won&rsquo;t win a third Vezina Trophy, but the Devils have said repeatedly there isn&rsquo;t anyone they&rsquo;d rather have in net for the playoffs than Martin Brodeur. This season, Brodeur has struggled with consistency; he has either allowed some soft goals or been unbeatable.</p><p><b>COACH LOU LAMORIELLO SAYS</b> &ldquo;This is a work in progress. We had gotten away from what we&rsquo;d been doing. But we&rsquo;ve gone back to what we&rsquo;d been doing.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-06

DEVILS

<div class="byline">By LARRY BROOKS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02785/9038867-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="967" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JAGR: SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011159/9038874-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> It&rsquo;s this simple: The Rangers beat you with Jaromir Jagr scoring and setting up goals, and with Henrik Lundqvist stopping them. They&rsquo;ve derived confidence and poise all season from their wonderful freshman goalie. With that added to the inspiration provided by Jagr, the Broadway run is dependent on its marquee stars.</p><p><b>HOW THEY'RE EXPOSED</b> The Rangers are challenged by teams that come at the defense with a hard forecheck and by teams that create traffic in front of Lundqvist. If Jagr is shut down, support players will be obligated to contribute.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> The Rangers are one of the least physically imposing teams in the NHL. If the playoffs resemble the traditional battle-zone competition of the past, there is a question about the team&rsquo;s ability to prosper in a down-and-dirty game.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Remarkably, no team has won the Cup the first time in the tournament after missing the playoffs even two years in a row. The Rangers are in after a franchise-record seven years of failure.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> With the Blueshirts an unusually top-heavy team, this is another legitimate question mark. The top six forwards shoulder an unusually heavy burden of offensive responsibility, and Renney has evolved into a three-line coach.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Are you sure you want to define Lundqvist as a rookie? Yes, it&rsquo;s his first year in North America, but that&rsquo;s no albatross the 24-year-old is wearing around his neck &ndash; that&rsquo;s the gold medal he earned at the Olympics. He gives the team a legitimate shot to win every game in which he plays.</p><p><b>COACH TOM RENNEY SAYS</b> &ldquo;Yes, at the start of the season our goal was to make the playoffs, but that&rsquo;s not the ambition now. Now it&rsquo;s to make some noise in the post-season.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-02

RANGERS

<div class="byline">By BRUCE GARRIOCH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04495/9038912-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="967" height="573"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HEATLEY: SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03619/9038919-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> Speed, speed and more speed. The Senators are quick and they&rsquo;ve got plenty of offensive talent. When they&rsquo;re flying, there is no stopping them&hellip;other than by taking a penalty. And that&rsquo;s not a good idea against the NHL&rsquo;s second-best power play.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> The Senators don&rsquo;t mind taking chances and that means the defensive responsibilities can slip. They&rsquo;ve got a strong defense, but their forwards aren&rsquo;t always committed to supporting when necessary.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> This is easy: history. The Senators haven&rsquo;t been to the Stanley Cup final and they have plenty of playoff demons they need to shed. It helps that the Toronto Maple Leafs won&rsquo;t be there, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean the path will be any easier.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Special teams. The Senators are among the top teams in scoring on the power play and killing penalties. Antoine Vermette and Daniel Alfredsson led the league in shorthanded goals.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Ottawa has plenty. It was put to the test in the final weeks of the season with injuries to Dominik Hasek, Zdeno Chara, Chris Phillips, Martin Havlat and Mike Fisher, and Wade Redden absent for personal reasons. Most of the aforementioned expect to be ready for the playoffs.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Will Dominik Hasek be healthy? Ray Emery did a capable job while Hasek recovered from an adductor muscle injury suffered at the Olympics, but Emery doesn&rsquo;t have a Stanley Cup ring. Ottawa is still relying on Hasek to be &lsquo;The Dominator&rsquo; in crunch time.</p><p><b>COACH BRYAN MURRAY SAYS</b> &ldquo;We know the challenge we&rsquo;re facing in the playoffs.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-04

SENATORS

<div class="byline">By WAYNE FISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06361/9038950-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="967" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NIITYMAKI: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05413/9038957-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> When the Flyers win, the victory is often the product of balanced scoring. In a late-season decision over Ottawa, all four lines scored. Some of that success can be attributed to team depth. Ten-year pro Sami Kapanen, a proven goal scorer, has been seeing fourth line duty.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> Some of the worst penalty killing in franchise history. The Flyers spent the year hovering at 25th overall or lower. The unit was hurt by long-term injuries to Kapanen, Michal Handzus and Eric Desjardins. All three are now back in action.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Though Antero Niittymaki is an unknown commodity in the NHL playoffs, he&rsquo;s not your typical rookie. He&rsquo;s 25, has won a Calder Cup in the AHL (last year) and played successfully for years in the Finnish Elite League. His silver medal performance at Turin drew comparisons by Teemu Selanne to Miikka Kiprusoff.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Since 1997, Ken Hitchcock&rsquo;s teams have made it to at least the second round of the playoffs. He has gone to the conference final or beyond four times.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Despite the loss of Keith Primeau, the Flyers still consider center a strength, with Peter Forsberg, Michal Handzus, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards. At the end of the regular season, the Flyers had several extra forwards, with Brian Savage, Branko Radivojevic and Turner Stevenson vying for time.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> If Niittymaki starts and then falters, Robert Esche has a brief, but impressive playoff resume. He bested Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour, then gave Nikolai Khabibulin a run for his money in the 2004 Eastern Conference final.</p><p><b>COACH KEN HITCHCOCK SAYS</b> &ldquo;The tank was empty for a while due to injuries. Now we&rsquo;re starting to fill it back up.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-06

FLYERS

<div class="byline">By ROSS MCKEON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02887/9038988-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="967" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TOSKALA: DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011312/9038995-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Sharks love their 1-2 punch of Joe Thornton centering the top line with Jonathan Cheechoo, and Patrick Marleau centering rookie power forwards Steve Bernier and Milan Michalek. Teams have to pick which line to deploy their top checkers against. An improved penalty kill has also helped matters.</p><p><b>HOW THEY'RE EXPOSED</b> There isn&rsquo;t much playoff experience among this group; that could be a factor in April and May.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Who&rsquo;s the No. 1 goalie: Evgeni Nabokov, who led the team to the conference final in 2004, or Vesa Toskala, the more consistent stopper in the second half?</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> How significant was the Nov. 30 trade for Thornton? Since putting Big Joe into the lineup Dec. 1 at Buffalo, the Sharks led the league in the greatest winning percentage increase, at better than 25 per cent.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> With Scott Hannan, Scott Thornton, Ville Nieminen and Kyle McLaren, the Sharks possess playoff-tested veterans who won&rsquo;t shrink in the spotlight. Marcel Goc provided big moments in the 2003 post-season at a time when he hadn&rsquo;t even made his regular season debut.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> GM Doug Wilson hinted the team might use both goalies in the playoffs, although the final decision rests with coach Ron Wilson. Nabokov battled injuries early, then was inconsistent. He found his game at the Olympics tending net for Russia, but was slow to get it back on track in San Jose. Toskala is less flashy, but might battle and cope better with heavy traffic.</p><p><b>COACH RON WILSON SAYS</b> &ldquo;We have a team that I think can win the Stanley Cup. But we can&rsquo;t (do it) without making the playoffs.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-02

SHARKS

<div class="byline">By TOM JONES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04561/9039033-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="967" height="571"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ST-LOUIS: ANDY MARLIN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03703/9039040-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> For the Bolts to win, they have to outscore opponents. And they have the horses to do it. The top six forwards (Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St-Louis, Brad Richards, Fredrik Modin, Vinny Prospal and Ruslan Fedotenko) are as strong as any in the league. Plus, rookie Ryan Craig and Dmitry Afanasenkov have shown some pop.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> Goalie John Grahame has played well in stretches, but has been inconsistent for the most part. His tendency to give up a soft goal is disconcerting.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> St-Louis struggled most of the season, but started to pick up his game in the last month. If he can regain his Hart Trophy form, the Bolts will be a dangerous team again, even if the goaltending is shaky.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> Playoff hockey is all about getting leads. In the first 16 games after the Olympic break, the Lightning gave up the first goal 10 times, including an incredible four times in the opening 27 seconds.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> Up front, the Lightning is fine. On defense, it&rsquo;s scary. The Lightning found that out when Dan Boyle and Pavel Kubina went down with injuries and they called up two players (Doug O&rsquo;Brien and Timo Helbling) with a combined seven NHL games of service. After its top-six, the Bolts have no defensemen with real experience.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> It&rsquo;s the team&rsquo;s biggest concern. The best hope is veteran stopper Sean Burke can regain some of his old magic. Grahame&rsquo;s season has been such a roller coaster, it&rsquo;s tough to imagine him carrying a team through four rounds.</p><p><b>COACH JOHN TORTORELLA SAYS</b> &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not defending anything. Defending? We won the Cup two years ago. That&rsquo;s the Ice Age as far as we&rsquo;re concerned.&rsquo;&rsquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-04

LIGHTNING

<div class="byline">By ELLIOTT PAP</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06412/9039071-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="967" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BERTUZZI: JEFF VINNICK/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05459/9039078-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="200" height="218"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OW THEY BEAT YOU</b> The Canucks are at their best with a strong forecheck and when their defensemen are jumping up in the play to create out-manned attacks. The emergence of the Sedin line (Henrik, Daniel, Anson Carter) as a consistent scoring threat makes the Canucks more dangerous, too.</p><p><b>HOW THEY&rsquo;RE EXPOSED</b> Vancouver has trouble handling teams that cycle the puck well. The Canucks also take too many undisciplined penalties, are poor on the penalty kill and have inexperienced netminding. They rank 28th in faceoff percentage and have struggled winning draws in the defensive zone.</p><p><b>QUESTION MARK</b> Key defenseman Sami Salo (shoulder) was injured at the Olympics, which seriously hampered the effectiveness of both the Canucks&rsquo; power play and penalty kill. If he&rsquo;s back, he&rsquo;ll give the team a big boost.</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> The two highest-paid forwards, Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi, were terrible minus players this season, indicating their lack of diligence without the puck and an inability to score at even strength.</p><p><b>DEPTH</b> With Ed Jovanovski back from abdominal surgery and Salo possibly returning, the Canuck blueline will be eight-deep for the post-season. All Vancouver forwards are healthy with the exception of Matt Cooke (concussion), who could be back soon, as well.</p><p><b>GOALTENDING</b> Alex Auld is completing his first season as a No. 1. He has minimal playoff experience and is largely unproven.</p><p><b>COACH MARC CRAWFORD SAYS</b> &ldquo;Scoring 5-on-5 (in the playoffs) is about winning those battles in the paint and those areas in and around the goal crease. We know these are the habits we have to have.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-06

CANUCKS

<h2><b>Tentative Playoff Schedule</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n the finale of the last NHL post-season, played almost two years ago, Tampa Bay edged Calgary 2-1 in Game 7 at the St. Pete Times Forum to capture the Stanley Cup on home ice.</p><p>The 2006 NHL playoffs begin Friday, April 21, with the last possible date for Game 7 of the Cup final being June 19.</p><p>Playoff dates are subject to change if a round ends earlier than expected, allowing the next round to start sooner.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011230/9039123-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="572" height="509"></div><h2><b>TV Coverage</b></h2><p><b>NBC</b> All four rounds. Regional coverage of first two rounds and two conference final games. Stanley Cup final coverage of Games 3 through 7. <i>Broadcast Team</i>: Mike Emrick, John Davidson and Pierre McGuire.</p><p><b>OLN</b> 15-20 first and second round matchups and 8-12 conference final games. First two games of Stanley Cup final will be carried. <i>Broadcast Team</i>: Emrick and Davidson.</p><p><b>CBC</b> All first/second round matchups featuring Canadian teams. First and second round coverage may include U.S. matchups. Full coverage of at least one conference final. All Stanley Cup final matchups. <i>Broadcast Team</i>: Bob Cole, Harry Neale, Greg Millen, Jim Hughson, Don Whitman and Mark Lee.</p><p><b>TSN</b> First three rounds, including both Canadian and U.S. teams, starting April 21. <i>Broadcast Team</i>: Gord Miller, Chris Cuthbert, Glenn Healy and McGuire.</p><h2><b>All-Time Active Scorers</b></h2><p>Here are the top 20 leading playoff scorers among active players:</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02858/9039116-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="572" height="883"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03706/9039109-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="1173" height="1320"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>TASTE OF GLORY</b></p><p>Four years of service in Tampa Bay finally paid off for Cory Sarich in 2003-04.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0035-01

2006 playoff primer

<div class="byline">By MIKE LOFTUS </div><div class="byline">THN correspondent</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02794/9039161-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>EXTRA! EXTRA!</b></p><p>Dallas has been deadly in extra time, thanks in part to shootout star Jussi Jokinen.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(STEPHEN DUNN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>I</b>t&rsquo;s back.</p><p>At some point later this month, a Stanley Cup playoff game will enter sudden death for the first time since Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Martin St-Louis stole the smile from the Red Mile on June 5, 2004, winning Game 6 of the final series 33 seconds into the second overtime at Calgary.</p><p>Two days later, the Lightning became champions. Nearly two years later, the post-season &ndash; and overtime &ndash; returns. No five-minute limit &ndash; although there&rsquo;ll be countless reminders that sudden death generally doesn&rsquo;t last long.</p><p>No shootouts &ndash; although if games are officiated as they were during the regular season, it won&rsquo;t be a shock if an OT or two ends on a penalty shot. At the very least, there are those who anticipate players being in the penalty box when the winners are scored.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m convinced they&rsquo;re going to keep calling games as they&rsquo;ve been calling them,&rdquo; said Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, who spent this season as a consultant to Boston&rsquo;s coaching staff. &ldquo;Before, you hardly ever saw power plays in overtime, but now you&rsquo;ll see more.&rdquo;</p><p>If Bourque is right, top power play teams such as Detroit and Ottawa will have more of an advantage than in years past, when man-advantage units were packed away with referees&rsquo; whistles after the 60-minute mark. By extension, bigtime, big-name power play strikers &ndash; New York Ranger Jaromir Jagr, the Red Wings&rsquo; Nicklas Lidstrom, Daniel Alfredsson of the Senators, etc., will have hero tags hanging off them by early May. Nothing wrong with that, nor with younger, emerging stars such as Carolina&rsquo;s Eric Staal and New Jersey&rsquo;s Brian Gionta getting the opportunity to score power play winners, either.</p><p>And it&rsquo;ll be intriguing, to say the least, to see if a team like Dallas, which had 14 extra-time victories with a week still left in the season, can dominate so thoroughly once the playoffs begin. Will Jussi Jokinen, the first star of shootouts, remain a factor once the stakes are raised, and the pressure is different?</p><p>Hopefully, rules and enforcement changes since 2004 won&rsquo;t remove one of playoff overtime&rsquo;s true charms &ndash; the unlikely hero &ndash; out of the picture.</p><p>Everybody knows one &ndash; for good reasons, or bad.</p><p>&ldquo;Game 7, (conference) semifinal against Pittsburgh, I was with the New York Islanders, 1993,&rdquo; said forward Tom Fitzgerald. &ldquo;We were playing Pittsburgh; they were going for the three-peat.</p><p>&ldquo;Overtime, and David Volek, who didn&rsquo;t play much, jumps on the ice. Slapshot, top of the circle, top shelf, and we&rsquo;re going to the Stanley Cup semifinal (against Montreal, which earned a record 10 overtime victories en route to the Stanley Cup).&rdquo;</p><p>That same spring, Bourque and the Bruins won 51 games and the Adams Division&rsquo;s title, but experienced death by overtime in the first playoff round against Buffalo. Boston was swept in four games, with three defeats &ndash; including Game 4 &ndash; coming in OT.</p><p>&ldquo;Brad May beat me 1-on-1, and went in and scored to win the series,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;I had that image of me getting beat all summer.&rdquo;</p><p>Besides the unexpected scorers, get ready to be reacquainted with improbable goals.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s guys you don&rsquo;t expect, and goals you don&rsquo;t expect &ndash; the ugly goals,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d always say it before OT: From anyplace on the ice, just put the puck on net whenever you get the chance. How many do you see every year that go in off a skate, a stick, a post?&rdquo;</p><p>It took until 2001 before Bourque, who&rsquo;d lost two finals in Boston (including 1990, when Petr Klima came off Edmonton&rsquo;s bench to win Game 1 at the Garden with 4:47 left in the third overtime), won his Cup in Colorado. He had to sweat out six OTs &ndash; three wins, three losses.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unbelievable when you win them,&rdquo; Bourque said, &ldquo;and it&rsquo;s tough to take when you lose.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>LONG NIGHTS</b></h2><p>Fans got more than they bargained for watching the NHL&rsquo;s five longest playoff games.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011205/9039154-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="1186" height="261"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0036-02

Playoffs, OT finally back

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011075/9039192-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b>ttempting to name the Cup champion, before the playoffs even begin, is a fool&rsquo;s game. You can&rsquo;t predict the future, so why waste the time?</p><p>Because you might be surprised at what you discover. Of the past nine NHL champions dating back to Colorado&rsquo;s 1996 Cup, the eventual winner had placed no worse than fifth in the regular season standings <i>(see list at right)</i>. And, the eventual winner was ranked in the top-three in regular season offense (goals for per game) or defense (goals against per game). Apply these two &lsquo;truths&rsquo; to this year&rsquo;s post-season, and you see that only Detroit, Ottawa and Carolina qualify: all three placed in the top-five in the overall standings, and all were in the top-three in either offense or defense.</p><p>Other rankings are for power play (PP) and penalty-killing (PK) efficiency; road points percentage; points percentage in last quarter of season; and, previous playoff result.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0037-01

Use Stanley’s past to predict future

<div class="byline">BY THN CORRESPONDENTS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011159/9039230-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Marian Gaborik</b> <span class="photo-credit">(RON LEBLANC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03629/9039237-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="146" height="103"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>M</span></b>innesota winger <b>Marian Gaborik</b> recorded his eighth career hat trick against Colorado April 9, beating <b>Peter Budaj</b> on one breakaway and using another to toast <b>Jose Theodore</b> in his Avs debut. &ldquo;When the playoff picture isn&rsquo;t there anymore, it&rsquo;s hard to get motivated,&rdquo; Gaborik said. &ldquo;These last few games we have to go out there and have fun.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>CENTRAL DIVISION</b></h2><p><b>CHICAGO</b> The Hawks appeared to have finally settled on playing <b>Tuomo Ruutu</b> at center. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s where he wants to play,&rdquo; said coach <b>Trent Yawney</b>. &ldquo;If he makes our team better at center that&rsquo;s a bonus for us.&rdquo;</p><p><b>COLUMBUS David Vyborny</b> was &ldquo;lucky&rdquo; in a knee-on-thigh hit by Nashville&rsquo;s <b>Brendan Witt</b>. Lucky, that is, to be 5-foot-8 as Witt&rsquo;s knee hit Vyborny&rsquo;s thigh, resulting only in a charley horse. Vyborny didn&rsquo;t miss a game; Witt was suspended one game by the NHL.</p><p><b>DETROIT</b> With a 4-2 win April 8 at Columbus, the Wings established an NHL record for road wins (29) and tied the record with their 10th straight victory away from home&hellip; The Wings have eight 20-goal scorers for the first time ever&hellip;D-man <b>Jakub Kindl</b>, the team&rsquo;s top pick in 2005 (19th overall) signed a tryout contract with Grand Rapids (AHL).</p><p><b>NASHVILLE</b> The Preds used extra forwards and defensemen on the penalty kill and limited them to shorter shifts. The result was a perfect 32-for-32 in five games April 3-11&hellip;Nashville reached 100 points for the first time in franchise history when they beat St. Louis April 11.</p><p><b>ST. LOUIS</b> After matching their franchise record with a 12-game losing streak earlier this season, the Blues lost 13 in a row before beating Edmonton 2-1 April 9, the night the team retired <b>Al MacInnis&rsquo;</b> No. 2&hellip; The Blues are 18-2-2 when allowing two goals or less.</p><h2><b>NORTHWEST DIVISION</b></h2><p><b>CALGARY</b> Goaltender <b>Miikka Kiprusoff</b> set a franchise record, winning his 40th game against Minnesota April 7. Kiprusoff also shattered the team&rsquo;s shutout record, with eight through 78 games&hellip; Unheralded center <b>Stephane Yelle</b> is Calgary&rsquo;s nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy, which honors perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game of hockey.</p><p><b>COLORADO</b> Goalie <b>Jose Theodore</b> earned his first win with the Avs in a 6-4 victory over Phoenix April 11&hellip; Left winger <b>Alex Tanguay</b> returned to the lineup in the same game after three weeks out with a sprained knee, and scored 68 seconds into the game.</p><p><b>EDMONTON Chris Pronger</b> played his 800th NHL game April 9, appropriately enough, in St. Louis&hellip;The Oilers played 12 games against nonplayoff teams after the Olympics, and lost eight of them&hellip;The NHL admitted the Oilers were cheated out of a goal &ndash; and probably a point in the standings &ndash; when a local video review official in Minnesota April 6 ruled <b>Mike Peca&rsquo;s</b> shorthanded goal didn&rsquo;t cross the line, when it did.</p><p><b>MINNESOTA</b> Goalie <b>Manny Fernandez</b> won his 30th game against Colorado. His previous high was 19 in 2002-03. &ldquo;It gets me into an elite group in the NHL,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really proud of that.&rdquo;</p><p><b>VANCOUVER</b> Defenseman <b>Mattias Ohlund</b> moved past <b>Doug Lidster</b> and into second place on the Canucks&rsquo; all-time list for goals by a blueliner. Ohlund netted his 66th against Calgary April 8. He&rsquo;s still 17 behind career leader <b>Jyrki Lumme</b>, who had 83&hellip; Defenseman <b>Ed Jovanovski</b> returned to Vancouver&rsquo;s lineup April 8 and scored the overtime winner after missing 27 consecutive games and 38 of 40 with an abdominal tear.</p><h2><b>PACIFIC DIVISION</b></h2><p><b>ANAHEIM</b> A 4-2 victory at Los Angeles April 8 gave the Ducks 41 wins this season, a franchise record, and a 4-2 triumph two nights later at Vancouver gave Anaheim 96 points, one more than the previous team record. The win over the Canucks also clinched a playoff berth&hellip;Center <b>Andy McDonald</b>, whose previous career high was 10 goals and 32 points in 2002-03, reached 31 goals and 79 points in a 5-3 loss to visiting Dallas April</p><p><b>DALLAS</b> The Stars improved to 12-1 in shootouts with a 3-2 win in Phoenix April 8. <b>Bill Guerin</b> scored on his first-ever attempt to end it.</p><p><b>LOS ANGELES</b> Defenseman Aaron Miller might need surgery for persistent back pain in the summer. &ldquo;Life isn&rsquo;t too fun right now, at the rink or away from the rink, when you&rsquo;re in pain all the time,&rdquo; he said &hellip;<b>Luc Robitaille</b> was nominated for the Masterton Trophy, largely due to his efforts to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.</p><p><b>PHOENIX Tyson Nash</b> became the third Coyotes forward lost for the season because of a knee injury when a bone defect was discovered April 10, joining <b>Ladislav Nagy</b> and <b>Oleg Kvasha</b>. Nash had zero goals in 50 games, the first time he has not scored a goal in six NHL seasons&hellip; <b>Bill Thomas</b> scored his first NHL goal vs. Dallas April 8&hellip;Winger <b>Geoff Sanderson</b> played in his 1,000th NHL game April 8.</p><p><b>SAN JOSE</b> Center <b>Patrick Marleau</b> and right winger <b>Jonathan Cheechoo</b> reached 85 points April 10 to break <b>Owen Nolan&rsquo;s</b> team record of 84 points&hellip;Cheechoo became the first Shark to score 50 goals in a season. He had 51 with four games left.</p><h2><b>POWER RANKINGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02778/9039223-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="606" height="2579"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0038-01

Wild man tricks Avs

<div class="byline">BY THN CORRESPONDENTS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011066/9039289-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Sidney Crosby</b> <span class="photo-credit">(CROSBY: SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05366/9039296-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="132" height="96"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>R</span></b>ookie <b>Sidney Crosby</b> became the youngest player in NHL history to score 90 points, notching a goal and an assist in a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia April 11. He reached it at the age of 18 years, 243 days. <b>Dale Hawerchuk</b> scored his 90th point at 18 years, 343 days. A 100-point season was still possible for Crosby, who was coy on the subject. &ldquo;This is basically my playoffs, and I want to leave it all out there and finish the best I can,&rdquo; he said to the <i>Globe and Mail</i>.</p><h2><b>NORTHEAST DIVISION</b></h2><p><b>BOSTON</b> Defenseman <b>David Tanabe</b> underwent season-ending knee surgery April 10 to repair his ACL. A day later, defenseman <b>Nick Boynton</b> underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Winger <b>P.J. Axelsson</b> and goalie <b>Hannu Toivonen</b> are both done as well.</p><p><b>BUFFALO</b> The Sabres maintained the NHL&rsquo;s longest-running AHL affiliation agreement (27 years) when it extended its deal to share the Rochester Americans with the Florida Panthers for another year.</p><p><b>MONTREAL</b> Forward <b>Steve Begin</b> is out at least until the start of the playoffs, perhaps longer, with a badly sprained knee. The injury occurred against New Jersey April 8&hellip; <b>Cristobal Huet</b> is Montreal&rsquo;s nominee for the Masterton Trophy. He missed the start of the season (knee surgery), but almost single-handedly led Montreal into the playoffs.</p><p><b>OTTAWA</b> Defenseman <b>Wade Redden</b>, who missed seven games while he was away for family reasons, returned to the lineup April 7 vs. Boston&hellip;Right winger <b>Dany Heatley</b> was named Ottawa&rsquo;s Masterton Trophy nominee. &ldquo;This has been a great change for me,&rdquo; said Heatley, who set a franchise record for goals (48) and points (96).</p><p><b>TORONTO</b> After faltering following <b>Ed Belfour&rsquo;s</b> season-ending back surgery, <b>Mikael Tellqvist</b> lost the No. 1 goaltending job to minor league call-up <b>Jean-Sebastien Aubin</b>. Aubin had started seven straight games and coach <b>Pat Quinn</b> said it was possible he would start all five remaining games as well&hellip;Left winger <b>Alexei Ponikarovsky</b> scored 20 goals for the first time in his career&hellip;<b>Darcy Tucker</b> scored his career-high 25th goal of the season in a 3-2 win over the Islanders April 5.</p><h2><b>ATLANTIC DIVISION</b></h2><p><b>NEW JERSEY</b> The decision to split up the <b>Patrik Elias</b>-<b>Scott Gomez</b>- <b>Brian Gionta</b> line to form two scoring units was successful because of rookie <b>Zach Parise&rsquo;s</b> outstanding play at left wing in Elias&rsquo; old spot. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s improving every game,&rdquo; said coach-GM <b>Lou Lamoriello</b>.</p><p><b>NY ISLANDERS</b> Goalie <b>Rick DiPietro</b> notched his and the Isles&rsquo; first regular season shutout since March 2004, in a 5-0 win over Washington April 8&hellip;The recipient of the Bob Nystrom Trophy, a fanvoted award given to the Islander who best exemplifies leadership, hustle and dedication, was <b>Kevin Colley</b>, a longtime minor-leaguer who sustained a career-ending neck injury after just 16 NHL games.</p><p><b>NY RANGERS</b> The Rangers wouldn&rsquo;t have opted to have <b>Henrik Lundqvist</b>, <b>Darius Kasparaitis</b>, <b>Steve Rucchin</b> and <b>Tom Poti</b> all out with injuries, but it allowed them to look at center <b>Jarkko Immonen</b> and defenseman <b>Thomas Pock</b>, both potential playoff recalls from Hartford (AHL).</p><p><b>PHILADELPHIA Keith Primeau</b>, out since Oct. 28 due to a concussion, practiced April 10 and fueled speculation he might return for the playoffs&hellip;<b>Robert Esche</b> got his 20th win, joining <b>Antero Niittymaki</b>. That&rsquo;s only the second time in Flyers history two goalies have won 20 games. <b>Brian Boucher</b> and <b>John Vanbiesbrouck</b> did the trick in 1999-2000 &hellip;<b>Brian Savage</b> is the Flyers&rsquo; nominee for the Masterton Trophy. Savage has been commuting to Montreal to help his brother, <b>Michael</b>, during recovery from a difficult operation to have a cancerous tumor removed from his esophagus.</p><p><b>PITTSBURGH</b> Once the NHL season ends, goalie <b>Marc-Andre Fleury</b>&nbsp;is expected to be sent to Wilkes-Barre for the AHL playoffs.</p><h2><b>SOUTHEAST DIVISION</b></h2><p><b>ATLANTA</b> Goalie <b>Kari Lehtonen</b> &ndash; the player most responsible for putting the Thrashers in the playoff chase &ndash; sprained his ankle April 6 in a collision with Tampa Bay&rsquo;s <b>Chris Dingman</b>. His return before the end of the regular season was doubtful.</p><p><b>CAROLINA Justin Williams</b> became the team&rsquo;s second 30-goal scorer, the first time the Canes have had two in a season since 1995-96 &hellip;Williams tied a franchise record with two shorthanded goals in the same game &ndash; and Carolina scored a franchise-record three &ndash; against Washington April 7 to set a franchise record with 16.</p><p><b>TAMPA BAY</b> Former captain <b>Dave Andreychuk</b> met with team president <b>Ron Campbell</b> recently to talk about returning to the organization, likely as a team ambassador&hellip;After losing its first three shootouts, Tampa won the next six. <b>Brad Richards</b> had six goals on eight tries.</p><p><b>WASHINGTON</b> The Caps signed winger <b>Alexander Semin</b> to a restructured two-year deal and he promises (again) he&rsquo;ll show up for training camp&hellip;<b>Alex Ovechkin</b> hit 100 points with an overtime goal against Boston April 10&hellip;<b>Olie Kolzig</b> wants to forget his 600th NHL game April 7. The Caps let in three shorthanded goals and a power play strike.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02685/9039282-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="515" height="223"></div><h2><b>PLUS MINUS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03532/9039275-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="562" height="586"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Steve Yzerman</b> <span class="photo-credit">(YZERMAN: GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h3><b>ALL THE PRESIDENTS&rsquo; MEN</b></h3><p>Captain Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings capture their second straight Presidents&rsquo; Trophy for finishing first.</p><h3><b>ULTIMATE ASSIST</b></h3><p>Calgary Hitmen&rsquo;s Ryan Letts performs the Heimlich maneuver to save the life of choking teammate Jeff Schultz.</p><h3><b>BADGERS RULE</b></h3><p>The University of Wisconsin becomes the first school to win both the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s national titles.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04440/9039268-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="561" height="584"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Denis Gauthier</b> <span class="photo-credit">(GAUTHIER: LEN REDKOLES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h3><b>TAKE TWO</b></h3><p>Philadelphia defenseman Denis Gauthier is suspended two games for a nasty hit from behind on Toronto&rsquo;s Kyle Wellwood.</p><h3><b>TURTLE RACE</b></h3><p>Neither Vancouver nor Edmonton looked particularly like they wanted to make it into the playoffs down the stretch.</p><h3><b>POST-SEASON SUSPENSION</b></h3><p>London scoring ace David Bolland is suspended four OHL playoff games for kicking an opponent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-01

Sid the Kid takes title

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAN WOOD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03343/9039379-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="563" height="734"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Randy Carlyle</b> <span class="photo-credit">(CARLYLE: JEFF VINNICK/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04277/9039372-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="168" height="195"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH&rsquo;S APPROACH</b> First-year Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle will be making his debut appearance behind the bench in the playoffs, but he can draw upon 11 years of post-season experience as a standout NHL defenseman and five more in the minor leagues while coaching Manitoba (AHL).</p><p>Anaheim has been among the league&rsquo;s top teams since late November. With a proven playoff goaltender in J-S Giguere and the leadership and overall outstanding play of three-time Stanley Cup-winning blueliner Scott Niedermayer, Carlyle has some nice tools on hand.</p><p>Perhaps his biggest achievement was developing Anaheim into a four-line team that utilizes everyone, even all three defense pairs.</p><p>Carlyle&rsquo;s post-season challenge will be to get the most out of a team with five rookies and an overall lack of playoff experience.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-03

Carlyle is no rookie in playoff game

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOHN MANASSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05237/9039417-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="564" height="732"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Bob Hartley</b> <span class="photo-credit">(HARTLEY: SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH&rsquo;S APPROACH</b> Bob Hartley&rsquo;s job is fine. GM Don Waddell has given Hartley a vote of confidence during the season and part-owner Bruce Levenson, who acts as the team&rsquo;s NHL governor, has said if goalie Kari Lehtonen were healthy all season, the Thrashers would have been a 100-point team.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06211/9039410-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="168" height="191"></div><p>That said, Hartley was going full bore to make a last-ditch attempt to get the Thrashers in the playoffs. Having won the 2001 Stanley Cup with Colorado, Hartley employs tactics that have worked. He&rsquo;s big on playing situations &ndash; for example, having Bobby Holik take most of the defensive zone faceoffs. You are also not so likely to see Hartley teams roll four lines. When his team trails, Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa and Marc Savard could play 25 minutes or more. And the top defense pair of Niclas Havelid and Andy Sutton could see minutes in the high 20s.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-05

Injuries took toll, Hartley’s job safe

<div class="byline">&#x2013; NANCY MARRAPESE-BURRELL</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH&rsquo;S STATUS</b> Mike Sullivan may be signed through 2006-07, but his future with the Bruins is very much tied to what ownership &ndash; specifically Jeremy Jacobs&rsquo; son Charles, who is the executive vice-president and almost certain successor to longtime president Harry Sinden &ndash; decides to do with the vacant GM&rsquo;s position.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01644/9039448-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="137" height="207"></div><p>Interviews are ongoing and interim GM Jeff Gorton appears to have the inside track. If Gorton stays in place, Sullivan has a chance to remain behind the bench, especially given the team has, for the most part, continued to play hard even after the post-season was out of reach.</p><p>Sullivan has done a good job developing young players such as Patrice Bergeron and Brad Boyes, but it remains to be seen if the powers that be believe he is the right person to guide the B&rsquo;s into the future.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

common01

Sullivan’s fate rests with management

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TIM GRAHAM</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH&rsquo;S APPROACH</b> The Sabres will maintain the same blueprint in the post-season that made them one of the NHL&rsquo;s surprise teams over the past few months. Coach Lindy Ruff, who holds the franchise record for playoff victories, will rely on discipline, stellar special teams and rolling four lines.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02391/9039486-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="160" height="200"></div><p>Ruff will have difficult decisions to make between the pipes. In all but two of the 54 playoff games he has coached in Buffalo, Dominik Hasek was his man, twice backstopping the Sabres to the conference final. Neither of Ruff &rsquo;s current goalies, Ryan Miller and Martin Biron, has played an NHL playoff game.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a great unknown in dealing with a young goalie,&rdquo; Ruff said. &ldquo;I think a lot of teams are faced with that, not just us. But we have more of an insurance policy with Marty, who has more experience. Things will sort themselves out.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-02

No changes planned when playoffs open

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RANDY SPORTAK</div><p><b>COACH&rsquo;S APPROACH</b> A stern taskmaster, Darryl Sutter accepts nothing short of everyone&rsquo;s best, offering tough love in return.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03313/9039517-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="161" height="198"></div><p>In the 2004 playoff run, Sutter regularly called out his players in the media, leaving no one immune &ndash; including star captain Jarome Iginla and all-world goalie Miikka Kiprusoff.</p><p>In fact, Sutter&rsquo;s glowing praise of Iginla after Calgary&rsquo;s Game 7 win over Vancouver &ndash; saying Iginla had one of the best performances he&rsquo;d ever seen and calling him &ldquo;the best young captain&rdquo; in the NHL &ndash; was as big a surprise as the team&rsquo;s miracle run to the Stanley Cup final.</p><p>Sutter&rsquo;s approach isn&rsquo;t just about hard work, though. He is a much better tactician than he gets credited for and diligently puts together detailed game plans. His technical expertise is something that surprised many of the Flames players when he first arrived.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-03

Tough-love Sutter no tactical slouch

<div class="byline">&#x2013; LUKE DECOCK</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH&rsquo;S APPROACH</b> Despite the remarkable impact Peter Laviolette has had in his first full season in charge, he&rsquo;ll be a free agent this summer with no contract talks underway. The Canes said they&rsquo;ll take care of it after the season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04268/9039548-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="168" height="159"></div><p>In any case, Laviolette&rsquo;s puck-pursuit/puck-possession philosophy turned the NHL&rsquo;s lowest-scoring team two years running into one of the league&rsquo;s most prolific offenses.</p><p>The Hurricanes attack in the offensive zone, where defensemen are encouraged to jump into the play, and on the penalty kill, where they often leave the net unguarded in pursuit of shorthanded goals (setting a franchise record with 16). It will be interesting to see how these strategies play out in the tighter atmosphere of playoff hockey.</p><p>Before Carolina, Laviolette took the Islanders to two playoff series, losing both in seven games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-04

Laviolette unleashes Hurricanes’ offense

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TIM SASSONE</div><p><b>COACH&rsquo;S STATUS</b> Trent Yawney isn&rsquo;t going anywhere.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05243/9039579-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="153" height="194"></div><p>What could go wrong did go wrong for Yawney in his rookie season behind the bench. Yawney lost his top two goal-scorers (Tuomo Ruutu, Eric Daze) and No. 1 defenseman (Adrian Aucoin) for most of the season with injuries; watched goalie Nikolai Khabibulin play poorly for the first six weeks; and, has gone with five rookies on the blueline since the Olympics.</p><p>But Yawney&rsquo;s strengths have shone through. He has been patient in developing young players such as D-men Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith and left winger Rene Bourque.</p><p>The Hawks never stopped playing for Yawney and improved since the Olympics. Also, GM Dale Tallon is firmly in his corner. Reports of VP Bob Pulford being at odds with Yawney are exaggerated, though the two have had disagreements.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-05

Yawney a positive for abysmal Hawks

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02408/9039610-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="168" height="202"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH&rsquo;S APPROACH</b> Joel Quenneville is no stranger to the playoffs. He guided St. Louis to the post-season every full season he coached there, and won a Stanley Cup as Marc Crawford&rsquo;s assistant with Colorado in 1996.</p><p>Quenneville has yet to make the final as a head coach, and doing that with this Avs team will be a giant task. Quenneville knows his team doesn&rsquo;t have the offensive depth it boasted in previous years, which means he has to find a way to win with defense, goaltending and power play scoring.</p><p>He&rsquo;ll likely start Jose Theodore in goal throughout the playoffs, and might go to a more trapping defensive style if Colorado matches up with Detroit or Dallas.</p><p>But don&rsquo;t look for Quenneville to make many radical changes from the philosophy that got Colorado this far. He always preaches the same few things, with defensive puck pressure at the top of the list.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-02

Quenneville knows team’s limitations

<div class="byline">&#x2013; AARON PORTZLINE</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH&rsquo;S STATUS</b> Gerard Gallant&rsquo;s first full season behind the Jackets bench will not be his last. Before a game April 8, GM Doug MacLean said Gallant and the entire coaching staff will return next season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03316/9039648-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="168" height="207"></div><p>Gallant gets major credit for keeping the Jackets motivated, even though they&rsquo;ve been out of the playoff race since starting the season 9-25-1. They&rsquo;ve gone 23-16-3 since Christmas, including a franchise-record six-game winning streak in late March and early April.</p><p>&ldquo;The coach is always the first guy in the line of fire (for criticism),&rsquo;&rsquo; said left winger Jody Shelley. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s been able to keep the respect in the room. The guys love him&hellip;And it seems like finally we&rsquo;ve come around and listened to him.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>The Jackets have lost a franchise-record 267 man-games to injury. Rick Nash, Adam Foote, Bryan Berard, Rostislav Klesla and Manny Malhotra all missed extensive time.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-03

Gerard’s Gallantry noted in Columbus

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE HEIKA</div><p><b>COACH&rsquo;S APPROACH</b> Dave Tippett likes to lead by example.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04252/9039679-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="169" height="169"></div><p>A former defensive forward who would stick his nose into any battle, he expects his team to do the same. Tippett&rsquo;s style as a player&rsquo;s coach was at one time thought to be too soft in the wake of Ken Hitchcock&rsquo;s confrontational ways, but it has proved perfect for the 2005-06 edition of the Stars. Heavy on quiet Finns and led offensively by an equally quiet leadership troika of Mike Modano, Sergei Zubov and Jason Arnott, Tippett has had to caress this team more than boot it in the butt. He has done just that and gotten the most of his players.</p><p>Credit GM Doug Armstrong with giving Tippett a more workable lineup, but also credit Tippett for keeping those parts in good working order. The team will likely enter the playoffs with three solid lines that have at least 30 games together and well-defined defense pairs.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-04

Soft-touch Tippett perfect fit in Dallas

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ANSAR KHAN</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH&rsquo;S APPROACH</b> Mike Babcock gained a reputation as a trapping, defense-minded coach during his two seasons in Anaheim. With more talent at his disposal in Detroit, he changed gears.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05217/9039710-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="168" height="193"></div><p>Babcock has stressed an up-tempo style from the start of camp, demanding his players skate hard. The philosophy was tailor-made for the new NHL, where the crackdown on obstruction has enabled Detroit&rsquo;s skilled players &ndash; such as Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Brendan Shanahan and Jason Williams &ndash; to excel.</p><p>Babcock also encouraged his defense to join the rush more often. As a result, Mathieu Schneider established a career-high in goals (21) and Nicklas Lidstrom a career-high in points (75).</p><p>Babcock is counting on games being officiated the same way in the playoffs. &ldquo;It would just be a fraud if it wasn&rsquo;t,&rsquo;&rsquo; he said. &ldquo;Just call the penalties, it&rsquo;s simple.&rsquo;&rsquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-05

Up-tempo Babcock has Wings motoring

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ROB TYCHKOWSKI</div><p><b>COACH&rsquo;S APPROACH</b> Craig MacTavish is a players&rsquo; coach in every sense of the phrase.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06199/9039741-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="137" height="207"></div><p>He&rsquo;ll never sit a slumping player in the press box and almost never calls them out in the media. That approach sometimes allows struggling players to stay in a rut a few games longer than they should, but it also fosters a strong sense of ownership, loyalty and closeness in the dressing room. Those qualities come in handy in the post-season, when heart and character often overcome skill and talent.</p><p>On the ice, MacTavish opts for safety over skill &ndash; you can go as long as you want without scoring, just don&rsquo;t make mistakes in your own end. Again, that leads to dry spells offensively, but the importance of responsible defense, one of the keys to playoff survival, has been drilled into the Oilers since training camp.</p><p>MacTavish has yet to win a playoff series in six years as a coach.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0042-06

MacTavish fosters loyalty from troops

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRIAN BIGGANE</div><p><b>COACH&rsquo;S STATUS</b> It&rsquo;s safe to say Jacques Martin is on solid footing as coach of the Panthers.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-07169/9039772-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="152" height="203"></div><p>It was only in May of 2004 that majority owner Alan Cohen ended the merry-go-round that had been the Florida coaching job by signing Martin to a long-term deal. With the Panthers closing in on only the fourth winning record in their 12-year history, Martin&rsquo;s post is secure.</p><p>Martin admitted at mid-season his unfamiliarity with the roster and the time it took to incorporate his system contributed to the team&rsquo;s slow start. But since the end of November, the structure has been much improved, the players have bought in and the team went 27-20-5.</p><p>With a few upgrades and a similar plan for next season, Martin, who has missed the post-season only twice in his 12 NHL seasons as coach, can be expected to vie for a playoff berth in 2006-07.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-07

Martin’s system finally takes hold

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RICH HAMMOND</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="109" height="124"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH&rsquo;S STATUS</b> When the Kings fired coach Andy Murray March 21, with 12 games left in the season, they hoped to provide a spark that would lift the team into the playoffs.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01666/9039803-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="153" height="210"></div><p>It didn&rsquo;t work. Interim coach John Torchetti &ndash; a smart, affable guy in a difficult spot &ndash; did nothing but preside over the team&rsquo;s further slide down the standings. And while GM Dave Taylor said Torchetti would interview for the permanent job, that hiring seems unlikely.</p><p>Torchetti, who was not employed by any NHL team at the time of his interim hiring, had little time to familiarize himself with the players and virtually no opportunity to alter the team&rsquo;s style of play.</p><p>Taylor chose Torchetti, who had no previous association with the Kings, over in-house options such as AHL coach Jim Hughes and Kings assistant Mark Hardy, both of whom are candidates for the permanent position.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-01

Torchetti boards sinking ship in L.A.

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRIAN MURPHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03366/9039841-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NOT EASY</b></p><p>The 2005-06 season was Jacques Lemaire&rsquo;s toughest as a coach.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH&rsquo;S STATUS</b> The Wild hold the option on Jacques Lemaire for 2006-07 and GM Doug Risebrough plans to use it. After this season, the two will meet to discuss the future.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02443/9039848-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="169" height="168"></div><p>Lemaire will be 61 when camp opens in September. He didn&rsquo;t say how much longer he wants to coach, although he&rsquo;s at the stage where he would like to lead a serious contender again.</p><p>&ldquo;I like it here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think I can get where I want to go.&rdquo;</p><p>That will depend largely on the Wild&rsquo;s off-season moves. Minnesota&rsquo;s inconsistent 2005-06 season was Lemaire&rsquo;s most challenging in his 12 years as an NHL bench boss.</p><p>He remains a voice of authority on a team that has reached a critical juncture in its evolution. Perhaps no coach is more secure than Lemaire, who has never been fired in three coaching stops, including Montreal and a Stanley Cup with New Jersey.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-03

All signs point to Lemaire’s return

<div class="byline">&#x2013; HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><p><b>COACH&rsquo;S APPROACH</b> When Bob Gainey replaced Claude Julien as coach in January, he placed emphasis on pushing the puck forward more.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04268/9039879-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="168" height="171"></div><p>Gainey wanted his team to get the first pass out of its zone more quickly and utilize its speed. He encouraged the Habs to be more aggressive on the penalty kill and to try for odd-man rushes.</p><p>Gainey also did a better job than Julien of defining his players&rsquo; roles. Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev were performing double-duty, playing the power play and killing penalties along with their regular shifts. Gainey eliminated overusing his stars.</p><p>The Habs feel confident entering the playoffs with Gainey in charge. He spent 16 seasons as a player with Montreal, winning five Stanley Cups. As coach of Minnesota, he led the North Stars to the final in 1991. He was Dallas GM from 1996 until 2002, and the Stars won the Cup in 1999.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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April 25, 2006

Al MacInnis: No. 2 with bullet

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