NHL TEAM ROSTERS

Neilson’s Hardest Chore May Take Place In Court

FOR THE MOST part, hockey people admire and respect Roger Neilson. They say that he is innovative and intelligent—basically a good coach. There are a few detractors. Every public figure has them. In Neilson’s case, those detractors say that he has occasionally exhibited difficulties in getting his strategies across to his players. There are even a couple of National Hockey League coaches, perhaps jealous of Neilson’s reputation, who say that he is overrated. But I have never heard anyone, anywhere, say that Roger Neilson doesn’t work hard. In fact, it is generally conceded that when Neilson was a head coach, he worked as hard as anyone in hockey. He worked so hard in Toronto that Maple Leaf owner Harold Ballard decided to test the limits of his dedication and sent a girl…

NHL SCORERS THIS WEEK

BOSTON—Middleton 4, 5, Simmer 4, 5, Linseman 7, O’Connell 4, Byers 2, Silk 3, 4, 5, Fergus 5,6,7, Courtnail 3. Winning goals—Simmer, Fergus. BUFFALO—Andreychuk 5, 6, 7, Tucker 3, 4, Hamel 3, 4, Perreaut 6, Seiling 4, 5, Peterson 2, Creighton 2, Housley 1, Davis 8, Ramsey 3. Winning goals—Tucker. CALGARY—Patterson 6, Quinn 4, Beers 6, Reinhart 8, 9, Maclnnis 3, Kromm 6, 7, Loob 3, Eloranta 1, Wilson 5, 6, 7, Peplinski 3. Winning goals—Reinhart. CHICAGO—Savard 4, 5, B. Wilson 4, Larmer 4, 5,6, Yaremchuk 2, T. Murray 4,5, D. Wilson 4, Fraser 4. Winning goals—none. DETROIT—Duguay 5, 6, 7, 8, Ogrodnick 6, Larson 2, 3, Yzerman 3, 4, Gare 4, Foster 3. Winning goals—none. EDMONTON—McClelland 3, Coffey 5, Kurri 10, 11, Messier 2, 3, Gretzky 11,12, Sherven 7, Anderson 7, 8, 9. Winning…

…But Whalers Feel It Isn’t Enough

HARTFORD—It was a memorable conflict between the Hartford Whalers and the Minnesota North Stars that included 14 power plays, 100 penalty minutes and, from the Whalers’ point of view, a punishment that did not fit the crime. When Paul Holmgren arrived in Minnesota from Philadelphia, North Star general manager Lou Nanne proclaimed him to be “our John Wayne.” A former champion for the Flyers, Holmgren was expected to lend the Stars some much-needed character. Holmgren had earned a reputation of being tough, but fair. But in one violent moment, that reputation was forever altered. “I was stunned,” Torrie Robertson said. “I never thought he’d do something like that, especially him.” Robertson was referring to a spear administered to his face by Holmgren. It produced a six-inch cut on Robertson’s left eyebrow and a three-inch…