Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
November 13, 1987
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.
Goaltending Poses Penguins’ No. 1 Problem
PITTSBURGH—Okay, so they have one of the most gifted players on the planet, Mario Lemieux. And they have a promising collection of young defensemen who just might evolve into one of the NHL’s most accomplished units. And they have another exceptionally skilled young player, Craig Simpson, who has raised his game to previously unseen levels. None of that seems to matter much to the Pittsburgh Penguins, however, because what they have more than anything else is goaltending troubles. Less than a month into the season, it was apparent both games and confidence were being lost at a disturbing pace. “If we don’t have the goaltending, it’s going to be pretty hard for us,” coach Pierre Creamer said. There was precious little in the early going to indicate the answer to the Penguins’ goaltending problems already was…
NEXT WEEK
Chicago Blackhawk center Denis Savard has been lifting NHL fans out of their seats for seven years, but the Artful Dodger has been at this best this year. The Blackhawks, sparked by their explosive superstar, have also started strongly, sitting amongst the leaders in the black-and-blue Norris Division. Read all about the man who may well be the NHL’s most exciting player. In our Minor League Report, we’ll be focusing on the changed roster size in the American League. Can teams give their best with a lean 16-skater, two-goalie roster? Several prominent AHLers think not. We’ll also have our usual extensive coverage of the major junior and college leagues, as well as our regular departments and columnists. You’ll get all this and much more, in the Nov. 20 edition of THE HOCKEY NEWS.…
Press Box Exile Hard On Suspended Coach
LANDOVER, Md.—Some coaches like the view from the press box, but Washington’s Bryan Murray would just as soon settle for the often-obstructed sight lines behind the bench. Murray was forced to watch three games from upstairs, the result of an NHL suspension. He was ordered out of action because of an Oct. 11 off-ice exchange of words and shoves with linesman Ron Asselstine in Buffalo. In an unprecedented action, the NHL also relieved Asselstine of his duties for three games, making it obvious that his intervention in Murray’s verbal dispute with referee Bill McCreary turned a routine complaint into a bad scene. Murray’s brother, Terry, was in command behind the bench during Bryan’s enforced absence. He and the players kept Murray on the edge of his press-box seat. The three games produced a…
Devils Horn In On Patrick Race
The New Jersey Devils were knocking off foes in October again, but they couldn’t seem to beat their own reputation. They have tempted their long-suffering fans with encouraging starts before, only to fall down, down, down… And, after all, isn’t that where those Devils belong? Lou Lamoriello doesn’t think so. The energetic 45-year-old former athletic director at Providence College knows his team has a dark past to overcome, but he has been an optimist since April 30, the day he took over as the club’s second president. Even when only 10,803 fans turned out to watch the Devils improve their Brendan Byrne Arena record to 5-0-0 by dominating Philadelphia 4-0 on Oct. 27, Lamoriello refused to be discouraged. “One thing you can’t buy and you can’t establish overnight is a winning tradition,” Lamoriello says.…
Made possible with the support of
