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.

March 6, 1992

The Hockey News March 6, 1992

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN Stiff</div>With three-quarters of the season completed, and the threat of a strike looming over the upcoming playoffs the NHL and the NHL Players&rsquo; Association finally got down to some serious face-to-face negotiations.The two sides met briefly in New York Feb. 24, and agreed to meet again March 9. &ldquo;The Players&rsquo; Association introduced some thoughts that were very positive,&rdquo; said NHL president John Ziegler, who represented the owners&rsquo; side, along with Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; governor Paul Martha, and Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; governor Barry Shenkarow.The meeting in New York was the first face-to-face meeting since talks broke off in September, and the goal was to set the stage for an accord on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement before the playoffs.The previous agreement expired Sept. 15, but the two sides agreed to continue this season under the old terms. However, there were no promises to finish the season and unless there&rsquo;s some sign of movement, the players could call a strike, or the owners could call a lock out.The NHLPA was represented by Goodenow, along with NHLPA president Bryan Trottier of the Penguins, Mike Liut of the Washington Capitals, Ken Baumgartner of the New York Islanders and Mike Gartner of the New York Rangers.Goodenow said the issues at the fore were free agency, the pension plan and arbitration. Although most players readily admit they don&rsquo;t expect the sort of free agency which takes place in Major League Baseball, they do want an end to the arbitration system which sent Scott Stevens to the New Jersey Devils last summer as compensation for the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; signing of Brendan ShanahanThe NHLPA would like more input in arbitration rulings and an end to the ruling of a single judge. The NHLPA would also like the age of free agency without compensation to be lowered (it is currently 31), and an increase in the financial rewards for finishing first overall and advancement in the playoffs.<h2>Senators win</h2>The Ottawa Senators won their legal faceoff with Paul Anka when the entertainer surrendered his claim to half the site for the Ottawa Palladium Feb. 21.The Senators had gone to Ontario Court seeking a declaration Anka&rsquo;s option to purchase half the 98-acre site expired Dec. 16 as per the terms of an agreement signed last May.Anka&rsquo;s lawyers contended because he wasn&rsquo;t given information he needed to make a decision and was misled about the financial health of the franchise, his option should still exist.&ldquo;We got exactly what we asked for,&rdquo; said Senators&rsquo; vice-chairman Rod Bryden. He said Anka&rsquo;s decision to back off paves the way for the financing of the $125 million project.The ground-breaking is scheduled for July with the 18,500-seat arena ready for the 1994-95 season.Anka&rsquo;s decision could be worth $6 million to Terrace Investments Ltd., the club&rsquo;s parent company.The Palladium site is estimated to be worth about $20 million, according to Cyril Leeder, president of the Palladium Co.Anka&mdash;had he been able to exercise his option&mdash;could have purchased half the site for about $4 million. Terrace still intends to sell half the site, but expects to get about $10 million for it.<h2>Record pace</h2>Steve Konroyd will have to pick up his production a notch to set career highs in goals and points this season. But all he&rsquo;ll have to do is stay healthy to set a career high&mdash;and league record-for games played.Konroyd played 49 games with Chicago before the Blackhawks traded him to Hartford for Rob Brown Jan. 24. The Whalers had played 43 games, giving Konroyd a shot at 86 games. He had four goals and 24 points this season. His career highs are seven and 32, set in 1985-86.The NHL record for games in a season is 83, set in 1981-82 by Brad Marsh, then with the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers.Three other players are on pace to play more than 80 games this season&mdash;the Islanders&rsquo; Steve Thomas (83), the Flames&rsquo; Craig Berube (82) and the Flyers&rsquo; Garry Galley (81).<h2>Playoff dates</h2>The NHL announced its dates for the 1991-92 playoffs. Teams with the better record are at home for games one, two, six and seven in each series. Here are the playoff dates:Division semi-finals: Campbell Conference: April 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. Wales Conference: April 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19,21.Division finals: Campbell Conference: April 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, May 2, 4. Wales Conference: April 23, 25, 27;29, May 1,3,5.Conference finals: Campbell Conference: May 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18. Wales Conference: May 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19.Stanley Cup final: May 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, June 1,4.<h2>Zero heroes</h2>NHL goaltenders are on the verge of setting a post-1979 expansion record for shutouts in a season.Since the league expanded to 21 teams for the 1979-80 season, the record for shutouts is 58, set in &rsquo;79-80 and matched in &rsquo;87-88. Through games of Feb. 23, 52 shutouts had been recorded in 672 games. That&rsquo;s a pace for 68 shutouts this season.There have already been more shutouts this season than last, when 51 were recorded. But goal-scoring is up this season, at 6.97 goals-per-game compared to 6.83 at the same time last season. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Brief meeting a beginning to serious CBA negotiations

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01422/6508680-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="556" height="775"></div>Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; goaltender Tim Cheveldae, who had a 4-0-0 week with one shutout, was named the Pro Set player of the week for the period ending Feb. 23.Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; center Wayne Gretzky, who had 12 points (4-8-12) in four games, was the runner-up.Throughout the 1991-92 season, Pro Set, Inc., will donate $600 to the youth hockey organization designated by the player of the week.Pro Set will also contribute $1,200 on behalf of the player of the month and $8,500 for the player of the year award winner.Now in its second season as sponsor of these NHL Awards, Pro Set is contributing over $56,000 to youth hockey organizations across North America.Cheveldae began the week by leading the Red Wings to three consecutive home wins over Norris Division rivals St. Louis, Toronto and Chicago.Cheveldae started the string with a 5-3 win over the Blues Feb. 17, turned aside 26 of 28 shots in a 3-2 victory over the Maple Leafs Feb. 20 and stopped 28 of 29 shots as the Red Wings defeated the Blackhawks 2-1 Feb. 22.Cheveldae then recorded his fourth career shutout&mdash;and second of the season-as Detroit beat the Hartford Whalers 4-0 Feb. 23.For the week, Cheveldae stopped 96 of 102 shots for a .941 save percentage to go with his 1.50 goals-against average in the four games. He raised his season win total to a league-leading 32. &#9632;

f0040-01

NHL PRO SET SPOTLIGHT

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-06" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06160/6508010-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg"></div><h2>TEAM-BY-TEAM</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-07135/6508003-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="996" height="1282"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-08122/6507996-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="999" height="427"></div><h2>LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-09107/6507989-1-eng-US/f0030-092.jpg" title="f0030-09" width="994" height="764"></div> &#9632;

f0030-06

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div>The Vancouver Canucks hit the NHL&rsquo;s three-quarter pole at full gallop, their ears pinned back and their eyes fixed on the Smythe Division title.Front-runners since opening day, the Canucks haven&rsquo;t been challenged this season except for a brief December run-in with the Winnipeg Jets.Things appeared dicey in mid-February when the Canucks lost five straight games. But their huge lead atop the division only shrunk to eight points before general manager-coach Pat Quinn managed to jockey the team out of its slump.Only a monumental collapse will prevent the Canucks from finishing first for the first time in 17 seasons.Pivotal factors: 1. Kirk McLean&rsquo;s health. The Canuck netminder appeared in 53 of the team&rsquo;s 61 games through Feb. 23 and posted a 31-13-9 record. 2. The performance of the special teams. Despite the Canucks&rsquo; lofty standing this season, their power play and penalty killing units have been ordinary. 3. Pavel Bure. The Canucks have never had a game-breaker like the Russian Rocket.Hardware hopefuls: McLean, Vezina; Bure, Calder; Quinn, Adams.Needs: The Canucks are desperate for a point-man for their power play. An experienced backup goaltender would also come in handy.Available: Sergio Momesso, Robert Kron, Troy Gamble, Doug Lidster.Trade talk: A possible deal with the Penguins for backup goalie Frank Pietrangelo.Above and beyond: Bure. He has established himself as the Canucks&rsquo; &ldquo;go&mdash;to guy&rdquo;.Down and out: Troy Gamble won 16 games last season, but has fallen hard this season.NOTEBOOK: Pavel Bure had his finest week as Canuck Feb. 17 to 23 when he scored six goals, including two game winners, and added two assists in four games. Vancouver was 3-0-1 in that span, which followed on the heels of a five-game losing streak.<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Cliff Ronning, Igor Larionov, Petr Nedved, Tom Fergus.LW&mdash;Greg Adams, Geoff Courtnall, Sergio Momesso, Gino Odjick.RW&mdash;Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure, Jim Sandlak, Ryan Walter, Garry Valk.LD&mdash;Robert Dirk, Dave Babych, Dana Murzyn, Jim Agnew, Randy Gregg.RD&mdash;Doug Lidster, Gerald Diduck, Jyrki LummeG&mdash;Kirk McLean, Troy Gamble.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Robert Kron, RW, fractured right ankle, March 15. &#9632;

Russian Rocket fuels hopes

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011438/6506234-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="357" height="356"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021180/6506227-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="53" height="43"></div>Unified Team. Turmoil at home and an uncertain future don&rsquo;t faze the world&rsquo;s premier team.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03867/6506220-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="53" height="43"></div>Kevin Stevens. It&rsquo;s amazing this killer Penguin was able to lead the NHL in scoring so late into the season.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04640/6506213-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="53" height="40"></div>Team USA. A team that surrendered more shots than Poland was in no position to complain about officiating.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05466/6506206-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="53" height="40"></div>Turtle races. Is there any way we can give final playoff spots in Adams and Norris to Islanders and Flyers?</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06349/6506199-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="360" height="351"></div> &#9632;

f0002-01

CHEERS & JEERS

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-07225/6506272-1-eng-US/f0002-072.jpg" title="f0002-07" width="363" height="463"></div>This issue is your handbook for the frantic final month (and five days) of the NHL regular season.We tell you what has happened so far, what may happen as the March 10 trade deadline approaches and. in our never-ending effort to be slightly ahead of our time, what players are in line for off-season honors.Here&rsquo;s how each of the 22 team stories will look:&#9633; Synopsis of what club has accomplished this season and its objectives for remainder of regular season (which ends April 5).&#9633; Three crucial factors expected to determine the season&rsquo;s outcome.&#9633; Candidates for major trophies: Hart, Vezina, Lady Byng, Norris, Calder and Adams.&#9633; Shortcomings that could be addressed in trade.&#9633; Players available for trade.&#9633; Trade speculation.&#9633; One player who has performed better than expected this season.&#9633; One player who has performed worse than expected this season.Of course, virtually all of this indispensable information is in anticipation of the playoffs.They begin April 8, continue virtually non-stop through May, and could go as late as June 4. (See page 7 for full playoff schedule.)This is without benefit of hindsight.Before the Olympics, it amused me that people expected the Unified Team to be a shadow of its former self because of political upheaval.How that ultimate off-ice distraction could instantaneously rob the fabulously talented ex-Soviets of their skills is beyond me.It&rsquo;s going to take a few more months of democracy before the CISsies are at our level of moral decay.Fighting is down marginally in the NHL and could reach an eight-year low if current trends are maintained.But fear not fight fans, there are still twice as many scraps as there were during the gory days of the Philadelphia Flyers.Through 648 games (as of Feb. 19), referees had assessed 1,118 fighting majors, an average of 1.73 per game or (since it takes two to tangle) less than one fight per game.That&rsquo;s eight fewer fighting majors than during the same period last season. The full-season average in 1990-91 was 1.81 fighting majors per game, the lowest since 1983-84.In 1974-75, when the Flyers (a.k.a. the Broad Street Bullies) won their second straight Stanley Cup on the strength of goonery and goals, there was an average of just .875 fighting majors per game.As it turns out, that era just had an image problem-not a fighting problem. There is less brawling and more fighting in today&rsquo;s game.Here&rsquo;s the tale of the tape since 1974-75. Games listed represent length of regular season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-08109/6506265-1-eng-US/f0002-082.jpg" title="f0002-08" width="558" height="810"></div> &#9632;

f0002-07

Don’t try to get through stretch drive without us

<div class="byline">By Kevin Dupont</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011586/6506327-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Iron-fisted Viktor Tikhonov reaches new heights with his latest Olympic triumph. (Photo by Jacques Boissinot/Canapress Photo Service)</figcaption></div>Amidst so much uncertainty in what used to be the Soviet Union, one thing is certain, the ex-Soviets have joined the world of free expression. They won their Olympic gold medal and they celebrated the way champions should, with big smiles, hugs of joy and even an airborn coach Viktor Tikhonov bouncing like a baby in his players&rsquo; arms.&ldquo;I liked that,&rdquo; Tikhonov, saidTI felt like I was in the seventh sky.&rdquo;He must have meant seventh heaven. Rarely has Tikhonov or his team shown a display of emotion like the one they did after the Unified Team defeated Canada 3-1 to win the gold medal in Meribel, France Feb. 23.When the final horn sounded inside in La Patinoire, the exuberant Russians rushed their goalie like school kids. As the net was knocked off its anchors, Evgeny Davydov climbed on top and knelt down on the top shelf, raising both arms in a victorious and triumphant &lsquo;V&rsquo;.The celebration and uncharacteristic emotional outburst continued for some 10 minutes. The stoic Tikhonov, known for his fiery reprimands on the bench, came doddling onto the ice and embraced each of his players. Spontaneously, a half dozen proud men turned and grabbed their coach. Not long ago, tar and feathers soon would have followed. Instead, they embraced Tikhonov and tossed him gently into the air, softly cradling each fall back into their arms.These are truly amazing times. The former Soviets came to the Olympics as the Unified Team representing the Commonwealth of Independent States. They left as they have seven of the last eight Olympics; as champions.The CCCP can fall from their chests. They can play as Team United, Equipe Unitee, the Unifieds, the ex-Soviets, the Commonwealth of Independent States or just plain Unies.In truth, however, it was still the Russian hockey team. And their language is still gold.&ldquo;I sang the Russian anthem,&rdquo; said a proud Viacheslav Bykov. &ldquo;It could be the last time that many of us play for an Olympic team and I sang for the people of Russia. We are always thinking of them.&rdquo;Similar to the way they dispatched Team USA in the semifinals, the Russians simply played a game that was too strong, too thorough and too technically perfect for the Canadians to crack.In the end, the Canadians walked away with their first Olympic medal silver-since a bronze in the 1968 Games of Grenoble. Team Maple Leaf also. suffered its seventh consecutive Olympic loss to the Soviets, and overall the Canadians are now 1-8-0 against Mother Russia and her orphans. Four of those losses have been I shutouts, and Canada&rsquo;s only win, 8-5, came in the &rsquo;60 Games at Squaw Valley, Calif.(For more on Canada and USA, see page 5).&ldquo;You need 21 guys playing the best games of their lives to beat that team,&rdquo; lamented goalie Sean Burke, in net for the final loss, as well as the Soviets&rsquo; 5-0 win at Calgary in 1988. &ldquo;We came close to doing that.&rdquo;Viacheslav Boutsaev scored early in the third period to give the Unified Team a 1-0 lead and Igor Boldin scored to give the Russians a two goal lead. Chris Lindberg scored his only goal of the tournament to cut the lead in half before Bykov put the game out of reach. For the most part, the ex-Soviets wouldn&rsquo;t be enticed into penalties and the Canadians couldn&rsquo;t sustain any pressure on goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov.&ldquo;At the start of the tournament,&rdquo; Russian coach Victor Tikhonov said, &ldquo;we were not regarded as favorites. Maybe this brought confidence to our players. During the whole tournament, game-to-game, we managed to improve our style of play. But one point is important in such games-teams should have luck. Although the play of both teams is important, in my opinion we had better luck.&rdquo;All that sounded very much like the same old Tikhonov but there was an entirely new mood and atmosphere surrounding a team that has had the political structure of its country go bankrupt in the last year. There is nothing new in a Soviet/Unified/Russian Olympic championship. This was their third straight first-place finish and they have finished without the gold in only two of the their nine visits to the Winter Games.&ldquo;To win an Olympic ice hockey tournament brings complete satisfaction to the coaches and their players,&rdquo; said Tikhonov, who likely will be back behind the bench for the World Championships in Prague and for the 1994 Games at Lillehammer, Norway.The ex-Soviets stood at center ice and dipped their heads while IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch bestowed the gold on each and every one. Their flag gone, the ex-Soviets saw the five Olympic rings raised in their honor. There was no moving rendition of the Russian anthem. The Canadians graciously accepted their silver, and the Czechoslovakians, who the night before blasted the Americans 6-1, collected the bronze.Despite the victory, the state of Russian hockey remains uncertain. The picture may become a little clearer in the upcoming months as the former Soviet Union attempts to find its economic feet and place in the new world order.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy, but I&rsquo;m also a little sad,&rdquo; Bykov said. &ldquo;This could be the last time we&rsquo;re together, and I think this is a Russian team. Of course, on the ice, there are no different nationalities.&rdquo;For the record, the USA, Sweden, Germany, Finland and France filled out spots fourthrough-eight. Norway (ninth), Switzerland (10th), Poland (11th) and Italy (12th) all failed to make the playdown round.But the most disappointing team was Sweden. A pre-tournament favorite, the Swedes lost 3-1 to Czechoslovakia in the quarterfinal and finished fifth. &#9632;

f0003-01

The Ironic Curtain

<div class="byline">By Al Maki</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011531/6506358-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The play of goaltender Sean Burke for Canada in the last two Olympic Games has made coach Dave King&rsquo;s job easier. (Photo by Dan Hamilton)</figcaption></div>The first question went to a beaming Unified Team coach Viktor Tikhonov: &ldquo;Will you be back as coach of what was the Soviet national team for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway?&rdquo; a reporter asked after Unified Team beat Canada 3-1 in the gold medal game.&ldquo;I will be engaged in ice hockey in 1994,&rdquo; replied Tikhonov, using some of that old-fash-ioned Russian evasiveness.Asked if he would be back as coach of Team Canada, a grinning Dave King replied: &ldquo;I will be engaged in ice hockey in two years.&rdquo;So ended the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics Feb. 23-with the Unified Team on top of the international hockey and Team Canada wondering if King would return as coach and general manager.<h2>CANADA</h2>Now that Team Canada has a silver medal-its first Olympic medal since winning a bronze 24 years ago in Grenoble-King&rsquo;s mission has been fulfilled. It was Canada&rsquo;s first silver since 1960.Canada hasn&rsquo;t struck gold since 1952. After three runs in the Olympic tournament (1984, 1988, 1992), don&rsquo;t be surprised if the 44-year-old King leaves the program he has spent nine years developing.Options?He will undoubtedly have his pick.According to insiders, King has talked to Ottawa about being head coach of the expansion Senators. King admits he has spoken with Ottawa general manager Mel Bridgman but not about work, only about players.Others insist the Senators have offered King a job in Canada&rsquo;s capital city but the salary is less than what King is already making with Hockey Canada.The Calgary Flames are another interesting possibility for King, whose contract with Hockey Canada expires June 30. Flames&rsquo;president Bill Hay was president of Hockey Canada before becoming president of the Flames.And there are owners and assistant coaches with the Flames who speak highly of King&rsquo;s abilities. Should Doug Risebrough leave the bench to devote all his energies to being Calgary&rsquo;s general manager, King would be a logical replacement.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t talked to anyone about a job,&rdquo; King insisted during the Olympic tournament. &ldquo;The only thing I want is to have my situation settled in May. I don&rsquo;t want to let this drag on too long. That wouldn&rsquo;t be fair to my family.&rdquo;Another avenue open to King is Europe, Where he is regarded as one of the game&rsquo;s leading strategists.King has previously had offers to coach over-seas but has declined them. Now, the money and the timing may be right.&ldquo;All I can say is that I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s a better coach on either side of the ocean,&rdquo; said Team Canada captain Brad Schlegel. &ldquo;Dave is always trying to be better. He&rsquo;s very intense, very demanding.&ldquo;And there were times when he pushed me to the limit but that&rsquo;s what I needed. He got the most out of this team. Nobody else could have gotten more.&rdquo;King said he will finalize Team Canada&rsquo;s schedule for 1992-93, prepare a list of player prospects and do a report on Canada&rsquo;s showing here during the next month before making any decisions.After that, he will start getting ready for the World Championships, which begin April 28 in Prague. Will it be his last assignment with the national team? He wouldn&rsquo;t tip his hand, saying only that the experience has been a good one.&ldquo;Really, I&rsquo;ve had the ideal pure coaching situation, with total control,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s very attractive for a career coach.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0005-01

For King…

<div class="byline">By Kevin Allen</div>For almost two weeks, goaltender Ray LeBlanc carried the U.S. Olympic team by catching shots that seemed faster than a speeding bullet. For almost two weeks, the U.S. team seemed more powerful than a locomotive.&ldquo;But Ray couldn&rsquo;t be Superman forever,&rdquo; captain Clark Donatelli said. &ldquo;He made save after save after save and we couldn&rsquo;t get him any goals.&rdquo;So reads the epitaph for the U.S. team after losing its final two games to the Unified Team (5-2) and Czechoslovakia (6-1). LeBlanc was replaced by Scott Gordon after the fourth goal-at 2:39 of the third period-of the bronze medal game against Czechoslovakia.Teammates rushed to console LeBlanc, 27, as he was about to sit out his first minute of the tournament.He had faced more than 90 shots in his final five periods of work. His teammates had only managed three goals for him.&ldquo;The guys just told me to keep my head up,&rdquo; LeBlanc said. &ldquo;Fourth in the world isn&rsquo;t bad, especially when no one expected us to finish better than seventh or eighth.&rdquo;The loss against the Unified Team in the semifinals was clearly the most frustrating of the two. The game was tied 2-2 going into the final 10 minutes when five penalties were called against the Americans. USA, however, was outshot 55-18 in the game.As teams left the ice, Donatelli screamed at Swedish referee Sven Erik Sold. &ldquo;You are the last Swede left in the tournament,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now you are trying to stick it to us.&rdquo;The Americans and Swedes had been feuding because of a rough pre-toumament game, a hit by Mats Naslund that sent defenseman Greg Brown to the hospital with a broken nose and concussion and coach Dave Peterson&rsquo;s decision not shake the hand of a Swedish assistant after the 3-3 tie.After the loss in the bronze medal game, Donatelli said he had some misgiving about his outburst against the official.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t what to put down the Russians because they are a great team,&rdquo; Donatelli said. &ldquo;And I didn&rsquo;t want to offend anyone in America. But I did say what the team felt.&rdquo;Was there a carry over from the semifinal game to the bronze medal game?&ldquo;Maybe USA versus the Soviets left us more down than we realized,&rdquo; Peterson said.The U.S., outshot 102-47 in the final two games, opened flat against Czechoslovakia. USA hadn&rsquo;t been an explosive offensive team at any point in the tournament; of the eight teams that survived pool play, only Germany and France scored fewer goals. The U.S. averaged three goals per game for eight games.&ldquo;Sometimes you can want something so much that you can want it too much,&rdquo; Peterson said. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t feel sadness, just disappointment.&rdquo;The performance was an improvement over the seventh-place finishes of the last two Games.<h2>UNITED STATES</h2>&ldquo;We can say we gave it our all,&rdquo; said Donatelli, who was a member of the 1988 team. &ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m walking away with a good feeling. In 1988, I walked away with a bad feeling.&rdquo;LeBlanc, a career minor leaguer, probably benefitted from his performance. The Chicago Blackhawks have indicated they are willing to give him at least one start and will make him available for the expansion draft.&ldquo;All I want is to play in the NHL,&rdquo; LeBlanc said. &ldquo;It can be tomorrow or three weeks from now. I just want a chance.&rdquo;Peterson was cagey about his future plans, saying only he wanted to go home for a few days to sleep in his own bed for the first time since July.USA Hockey president Walter Bush said Peterson will be considered strongly for the 1994 coaching position if he wants the job. &#9632;

And Country

I would like to commend Ken Campbell for an excellent piece on Team Canada goaltender Sean Burke (THN, Feb. 7). It&rsquo;s about time people know what really happened in New Jersey.Ever since leading the Devils&rsquo; spectacular playoff drive in 1988, Burke has been mistreated. And not just by management but by the fickle fans who turned on him.General manager Lou Lamoriello, meanwhile, has toyed with Burke and should have traded the unhappy goalie long ago as he promised he would.Now the Devils have Chris Terreri, who has a lot to learn about style both on and off the ice. I can&rsquo;t help but laugh when I watch him dive all over the ice, making routine saves look difficult. That may impress people at the Meadowlands but they forget he has done nothing in the playoffs.Mark my words. Burke will have the last laugh.Alex Kernitsky,Lakeville, Conn.<h2>Turn other cheek</h2>Hockey is one of the few sports not yet infected by racism and politics. So it upset me to read Graeme Townsend&rsquo;s comments in the Feb. 7 issue of THN.Townsend, whose battle with the Adirondack Red Wings shows why he is in the minors, should just walk away from the nonsense. It will stop if he doesn&rsquo;t overreact.On the other hand, Claude Vilgrain&rsquo;s comment that he wants to be known as a player-not a black player-was music to my ears. If he could not do the job, the New Jersey Devils would not have him.Joe Fredland,Pittsburgh. Pa.<h2>Missing the point</h2>I believe Steve Dryden&rsquo;s idea for a new point-scoring system is flawed (THN, Feb. 14). Here&rsquo;s why:In the Detroit-Toronto game Feb. 7, Wendel Clark blew by Nicklas Lidstrom and then, instead of taking a bad-angled shot, fed it perfectly to Lucien Deblois for a goal.Now, if Dryden&rsquo;s system was invoked, this goal may not have been scored. Clark may have hogged the puck and taken the shot himself in order to help pad his point total and possibly his bank account.Matt Collum,Burlington, Ont.<h2>What happened?</h2>What has happened to Troy Mallette? He used to play with a lot of enthusiasm when he was with the New York Rangers.He used to throw some pretty mean checks and they&rsquo;d often have to drag him from the ice after he&rsquo;d been in a fight.Now, since his trade from Edmonton to New Jersey-a team that could use some firing up-he seems to have lost his spark. I prefer the old over-enthusiastic Mallette to the new and unimproved lethargic one.Nina French,Agnos, Ark.<h2>Be objective</h2>A popular word these days in political circles is &ldquo;protectionism.&rdquo; It seems the same attitude is prominent in hockey circles, too.I would hesitate to call it racism but why is it Tomas Sandstrom is &ldquo;dirty&rdquo; yet Dale Hunter is &ldquo;gritty&rdquo;? Why are fingers always being pointed at Ulf Samuelsson and Viacheslav Fetisov? What about Mathieu Schneider? Ask Bobby Carpenter about him.Or ask any of the goaltenders Glenn Anderson has run over. Watch any game Brian Skrudland plays. And anyone who has seen Mark Messier play enough can tell you he has left a few slivers around the league.If you are going to point fingers at dirty players, point at all of them. Not just those &ldquo;evil&rdquo; Europeans.D.L. Cameron,Edmonton, Alta.<h2>Reign of error</h2>Is Ron Caron happy now?The St. Louis Blues&rsquo; general manager really showed Adam Oates a thing or two. He said he wouldn&rsquo;t renegotiate Oates&rsquo; contract and shipped him to the Boston Bruins. I don&rsquo;t think Brett Hull will mind; Oates didn&rsquo;t mean that much to his career anyway.Caron wanted Garth Butcher so badly, he sacrificed a first-place finish by sending three top forwards to Vancouver. Way to go, Ron. Compensation for Brendan Shanahan resulted in Scott Stevens&rsquo; departure. Three more cheers.Caron must be thrilled to see St. Louis hovering around .500 while a superstar player sits floundering in a sea of mediocrity.Can you imagine seeing Sergio Momesso, Cliff Ronning, Geoff Courtnall, Stevens, Oates and Hull on the same team?Laurie Wright,Green Bay, Wise.Make your feelings known. Fax us your comments at&nbsp;(416) 445-0753&nbsp;or write to&nbsp;Letters, The Hockey News, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont., M3B 2R2&nbsp;in Canada. In the U.S., write to&nbsp;Letters, The Hockey News, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y., 14240-9947.&nbsp;Include home and business phone numbers.&nbsp;THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

Burke was burned by Jersey’s Devils

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011706/6506437-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0006-01

ELSTON

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti Senior Writer</div>THE DEALS: The Pittsburgh Penguins send defenseman Paul Coffey, 30, to the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Brian Benning. 25, and a first-round pick in the 1992 draft.The Penguins then send Benning, right winger Mark Recchi, 24, and the first-round pick acquired from Los Angeles to the Philadelphia Flyers for right winger Rick Tocchet, 27, defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, 33, goalie Ken Wregget. 27, and a conditional draft pick which must be within the top 60 of the 1992 entry draft.THE VERDICT: The Flyers got younger and more skilled; the Penguins got tougher; and the Kings got older.This is a classic case of teams filling different needs: the Flyers know they have no shot at any playoff success this season and made their future brighter with Recchi and the draft pick. All the while, they maintained their good position in the Eric Lindros derby.The Penguins have enough talent&mdash;especially at right wing-that they could afford to part with Recchi and address other areas-defense and toughness. Tocchet will give the Pens some punch, and if he&rsquo;s not expected to be the go&mdash;to guy, he could pitch in 35 or 40 goals. The Penguins also strengthened their weakest area as another big Samuelsson will solidify their defense. Time will tell, however, whether this trade works out as well as the one made with Hartford last year that brought a Stanley Cup.As for the Kings, if it wasn&rsquo;t obvious earlier, it&rsquo;s now very clear owner Bruce McNall wants to mint Stanley Cup coins this spring. Another first-round pick is gone&mdash;they don&rsquo;t have one now until 1994&mdash;and they are going to look awfully silly if the doesn&rsquo;t work out. &#9632;

Kings go for Cup with Coffey

A weekly compendium of significant events and developments.Feb. 18: Eric Lindros scores the winning goal as Canada defeats Germany 4-3 in a shootout and United States defeats France 4-1 to advance to medal round at the Olympics.Feb. 19: Unified Team defeats Finland 6-1 and Czechoslovakia beats Sweden 3-1 to advance to the medal round at the Olympics.The Pittsburgh Penguins trade defenseman Paul Coffey to the Los Angeles Kings for defensemen Jeff Chychrun and Brian Benning and the Kings&rsquo; first-round pick in 1992. The Penguins trade Benning, right winger Mark Recchi and the Kings&rsquo; first round pick to Philadelphia for right winger Rick Tocchet, defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, goalie Ken Wregget and a third-round pick in 1992.NHL suspends New York Rangers&rsquo; right winger Mike Gartner three games for slashing Ulf Samuelsson of Pittsburgh in a game Feb. 5.Feb. 20: Minnesota left winger Brian Bellows is fined $500 for comments made about officiating after a game against Toronto Feb. 5.Feb. 21: Canada defeats Czechoslovakia 4-2 and Unified Team defeats United States 5-2 to advance to gold-medal game at the Olympics.Feb. 22: Czechoslovakia defeats United States 6-1 to win the bronze medal at the Olympics.Feb. 23: Unified Team defeats Canada 3-1 to win gold medal at the Olympics. Canada wins silver. &#9632;

THE WEEK IN HOCKEY: FEB. 17-23

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011547/6506540-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="369" height="467"></div>Only broadcasters could possibly have any objections to February&rsquo;s big trade. They are going to have to differentiate as to which Samuelsson has just made Peter Stastny double over and also describe passes between Ricci and Recchi. Since the Philadelphia Flyers left themselves short of defensive defensemen as a result of the deal. I&rsquo;m starting a rumor that they are trying to get Joe Reekie.Otherwise, this deal is a winner for everybody. The Los Angeles Kings got older, sure, but even if they weren&rsquo;t admitting it, they had already made a commitment to shoot for the works this year or next. Within that context, they added a still-spectacular talent in Paul Coffey for a minimal cost. There are no U.S. customs restrictions against reaching north across the border for old times. Not that I think what the Kings are doing will work but it will be fun watching them try.The Pittsburgh Penguins, who had more offense than they needed, added some grind. Take it from me, Kjell Samuelsson is no shell of his former self. Because of a late start in seriously competitive hockey, the odometer on this Volvo doesn&rsquo;t reflect the mileage of a 33-year-old model. Rick Tocchet disappointed both the Flyers and himself with his response to the first real adversity of his career but he&rsquo;ll be revived playing for a Cup contender. The Penguins were falling back into old, whiny and selfish ways. Craig Patrick has given them a needed jolt and a balanced roster.Russ Farwell, stuck with a general manager&rsquo;s No. 1 nightmare&mdash;an essential player in a pout&mdash;was able to recoup nicely for Tocchet. In Recchi, the Flyers finally acquired the natural scorer they&rsquo;ve lacked since Tim Kerr&rsquo;s body began to break. If you look carefully, a vague outline of the Flyers&rsquo; future is becoming visible.When Farwell became GM in May, 1990, the team&rsquo;s key players-Tocchet, Kerr, Ron Hextall, Mark Howe-were all in their mid-20s to 30s. Now, a nucleus of Mike Ricci, 20, Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, 21, and Recchi, 24, is forming. The ultimate strength of that core remains to be proven but at least the organization is again practising the philosophy that succeeded for it through the &rsquo;70s and &rsquo;80s. The Flyers are trying to build a long-range contender, not just patch together a playoff team from year-to-year.To get the club he wants for 1995-96, Farwell hardly batted an eyelash about helping Pittsburgh, the only team the Flyers have a chance to beat out in 1992-93. The GM also didn&rsquo;t do anything in this deal to keep him from landing the grand prize, Eric Lindros, this summer. Don&rsquo;t bet the house on the Flyers getting Lindros, just the car.True, they don&rsquo;t have a superstar young talent to be the centerpiece of an offer for Lindros. But when Pierre Page reluctantly begins taking bids, I wonder just how anxious contending teams-at least the ones with the financial wherewithal to satisfy Lindros and the Nordiques&mdash;will be to tear up their nucleuses. Detroit will try to do the deal without giving up Sergei Fedorov and may pass entirely if it senses a similar reluctance by Chicago to deal Jeremy Roenick. Both teams may wind up thankful to see Lindros going to another division.Would the New York Rangers, so close to Jericho after 52 years in the desert, be willing to give up the four or five players it will take to land Lindros? To start discussions, the Nordiques would want Brian Leetch. To end discussions, Leetch probably wouldn&rsquo;t go.Like the Rangers, Red Wings and Blackhawks, the Flyers have the cash for Lindros. They have no immediate championship hopes to jeopardize and have a player in Mike Ricci, whom: (a) Page likes; and (b) would not likely refuse to play in Quebec.The Nordiques, who already have a 100-point player in Joe Sakic, have been collecting raw talent with high draft choices for almost five years and have shown no evidence of progress. The pressure is mounting on Page to get the comer turned and Ricci might be the perfect fit for a now-characterless collection of young players. He&rsquo;s not going to be a huge scorer but he will develop into far better than just a solid player. At this stage. Page needs a young winner more than he needs a megatalent and Ricci would represent an attractive start to a Lindros package. The Flyers have a lot of useful players&mdash;Recchi, Steve Duchesne, Pelle Eklund, Andrei Lomakin, even Ron Hextall, plus two No. 1 draft choices in 1992.It&rsquo;s just a theory. Vancouver has young talent, if it wants to lay out millions for Lindros. Toronto and Montreal have the money, but does either club possess a young player of enough promise to tempt Page?Market conditions may change and so will priorities, depending upon how the above teams do in the playoffs. But for now my darkhorse pick in the Lindros derby is Philadelphia. &#9632;

f0007-01

Taking a Flyer on Lindros derby

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div>Is Brett Hull damaged P.R. goods? One would think so from the spate of negative stories about the Golden Brett&rsquo;s attitude emanating from St. Louis. The most damaging column was authored by veteran columnist George Csolak, who writes for the St. Louis-based weekly Riverfront Times. Csolak, who blasts Hull for his complaining and lashing out at Blues&rsquo; fans, tells Bluelines, &ldquo;A lot of people are sick of his whining, his attitude is really bad. He has no leadership qualities whatsoever.&rdquo; Csolak asserts that until recently, Hull enjoyed journalistic immunity. &ldquo;The media treated him with kid gloves; nobody went after him.&rdquo; Hull&rsquo;s agent Michael Barnett says he has discussed media relations with his client. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t apologize for anything Brett said,&rdquo; Barnett says. &ldquo;He speaks from the heart and has a right to say what he thinks. For everyone who doesn&rsquo;t like what he says, there&rsquo;s someone else who agrees with him.&rdquo;&hellip;One of the most heated referee-executive exchanges that went unreported-newsmen were not in the vicinity-erupted in a corridor near the officials&rsquo; room at Nassau Coliseum after the New York Islanders had defeated Vancouver. A steaming Canucks&rsquo; president-coach Pat Quinn assailed Paul Stewart. &ldquo;I thought you were coming along,&rdquo; Quinn said, among other things. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re a (expletive) embarrassment!&rdquo; To which the ref shot back, &ldquo;Go fill out your report. I thought you had more class than that.&rdquo;<h2>Tusk, tusk</h2>Terry Simpson has made it known that he&rsquo;s hopeful of landing an NHL head coaching job next season and he&rsquo;s doing it without an agent. &ldquo;The people who do the hiring know enough about me,&rdquo; the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; assistant says. Simpson agrees with Don Cherry on the boredom factor of European hockey. &ldquo;Watching a game between two European teams,&rdquo; Simpson says, &ldquo;is like watching elephants copulate.&rdquo;&hellip;Officiating sources report the NHL will get its first black referee next season when the American League&rsquo;s Derek Martin begins working the bigs. The league presently boasts one black linesman. Jay Sharrers&hellip;The Bob Clarke-to- Philadelphia rumors leave Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; owner Norman Green cold. &ldquo;Nobody has talked to me about Clarke leaving,&rdquo; Green says. &ldquo;He has three more years on his con-tract.&rdquo;&hellip;If you&rsquo;re wondering why Brent Ashton has moved from Vancouver to Colorado, then to New Jersey, Minnesota, Quebec, Detroit,<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011612/6506592-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="371" height="673"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021258/6506585-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="369" height="671"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03935/6506578-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="376" height="679"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04482/6506571-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="1143" height="1273"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brent Ashton, who has played for Vancouver, Colorado, New Jersey, Detroit, Winnipeg and Boston may be on the move again.</figcaption></div>Winnipeg and, finally, Boston, Bruins&rsquo; coach Rick Bowness has the answer. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s because Brent is so versatile. He plays well defensively, puts points up and does more than asked.&rdquo; Next season Ashton could wind up in with his eighth team since he&rsquo;ll be a free agent without compensation. He wants a three-year pact at more than $300,000 a season.<h2>Golden silence</h2>Northeastern goalie Elijah Gold says his deafness isn&rsquo;t a huge handicap when it comes to playing. &ldquo;I have a linguistic difference much like a French-Canadian player coming here,&rdquo; he reasons. &ldquo;The difference is, they speak French and I speak American sign language. For me it&rsquo;s an advantage, I can&rsquo;t hear the crowd yelling &lsquo;Sieve, sieve.&rsquo; &ldquo;&hellip;With the Stanley Cup on tour across Canada, some unusual responses have been recorded by tour coordinator Wayne Bilick. &ldquo;We were in Sudbury (Ont.) and an elderly lady stared at the Cupand then just started crying. In Saskatchewan people told us they drove for hundreds of miles just to see the Cup.&rdquo;<h2>Russ fuss</h2>At least one Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; insider believes broadcaster Mario Tremblay&rsquo;s blast against Russ Courtnall for not playing hurt was a set-up arranged by the club to inspire the player to get back into the flow&hellip;According to insiders, the Blues&rsquo; decision to trade Adam Oates was made by chairman Mike Shana-han the night Oates was voted second star in the victory over New Jersey at the Arena, Feb. 6. Instead of taking the ice in the traditional salute to the fans, Oates went to the dressing room. Within minutes, Shanahan notified GM Ron Caron to unload the center. &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; Shanahan says, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re going to find out if there&rsquo;s leadership on this team. We needed to fix this or we were going up in smoke.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-01

Hull’s golden-boy image starting to lose some luster

<div class="byline">By Stan Flschler</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-05348/6506630-1-eng-US/f0008-052.jpg" title="f0008-05" width="369" height="474"></div>While Eric Lindros ponders his post Olympic options, NHL philosopher-kings are debating a most intriguing question. On which team would Lindros do the league the most good?There are two schools of thought. One has it he should be in a media mecca while the other offers Lindros would best serve league interests by bolstering a weak franchise the way Mario Lemieux did the Pittsburgh Penguins.One NHL marketing expert suggests Hartford would be the ideal destination for Lindros.&ldquo;He&rsquo;d bring sellouts to the Civic Center,&rdquo; the source insists, &ldquo;and that way a faltering franchise would be back on its feet again. The Whalers could really use him.&rdquo;However, marketing experts who view the hockey more objectively than NHL people take a more bigtime approach.Marty Blackman, who was a Madison Avenue sports promoter for three decades, believes hockey would be best served if Lindros played in one if the league&rsquo;s biggest cities.&ldquo;It should be either New York, Chicago or Los Angeles,&rdquo; Blackman explains, &ldquo;but since Wayne Gretzky already is in L.A., then New York or Chicago would have to be the place because they are media capitals.&ldquo;Use (basketball&rsquo;s) Michael Jordan as an example. In Chicago he&rsquo;s king but if he was playing in San Antonio he&rsquo;d be buried and there wouldn&rsquo;t be nearly as much coverage.&rdquo;The Blackhawks have some arresting personalities in Jeremy Roenick and Chris Chelios while their Ranger counterparts are Mark Messier and Brian Leetch.&ldquo;It would be ideal,&rdquo; Blackman adds, &ldquo;if Lindros came to a winner and, right now, the Rangers look like they&rsquo;ll be a winner faster than the Blackhawks.&rdquo;Veteran Philadelphia broadcaster Gene Hart asserts it would be best if Lindros played for a &ldquo;perimeter&rdquo; franchise such as the Tampa Bay Lightning or San Jose Sharks.&ldquo;Gretzky has demonstrated that a supernova can illuminate hockey, even in L.A.,&rdquo; Hart says.Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; president Jay Snider disagrees. &ldquo;The place where Lindros would do the NHL the most good is in Quebec,&rdquo; Snider says.Should Lindros become a New Yorker-not out of the realm of possibility considering the Rangers riches-he would obtain the kind of non-hockey media attention which so far has eluded Messier.While this may come as a surprise to Edmontonians, Messier&rsquo;s move to Manhattan has created more attention in Canada than it has on Broadway.&ldquo;A good reason,&rdquo; Blackman says, &ldquo;is that Messier played in Edmonton too long and is only known to NHL people but not much to the average sports fan. Nobody in big-time marketing or advertising circles is going to stand on his head for him unless two things happen:&ldquo;One is that he has to continue playing at the same high level he has since coming to New York and, two, the Rangers must win the Cup.&rdquo;To understand why Messier has yet to make a significant dent on Broadway, one must grasp the New York media marketplace and its tepid feel for hockey in relation to baseball or football.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-06279/6506623-1-eng-US/f0008-062.jpg" title="f0008-06" width="557" height="692"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Messier</figcaption></div>When Dwight Gooden sneezes, it becomes an eight-column banner headline. Columnists constantly wonder when George Steinbrenner is planning a coup d&rsquo;etat to overthrow the New York Yankees&rsquo; management.The barometer of sports interest can be gauged by general sports columnists. In Canadian cities, they devote most of their space to hockey. In New York City it is a major event when a general columnist such as Dave Anderson of the New York Times gives hockey a tumble and usually it&rsquo;s a blast. One example is a recent open letter to NHL president John Ziegler about cleaning up the league.Coverage of Messier&rsquo;s splendid contribution to the Rangers has been minimal except for the obligatory attention given by hockey beat reporters.You could bet your last pair of hockey hose things would be different if Eric Lindros ever made it to Broadway. &#9632;

f0008-05

Much is riding on Lindros’ destination

<div class="byline">By Jett Gordon</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011533/6506668-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="364" height="467"></div>Rotisserie hockey is great fun. You swap goal-scorers for playmakers and defensemen for goalies. When a player&rsquo;s plus-minus rating plummets or his goals-against average soars, you dump him like last month&rsquo;s tuna salad.New players don&rsquo;t have to get along with holdovers on rotisserie teams; only their numbers have to mesh. Their dressing room is a computer screen.Alas, managing an actual NHL team is trickier. The top five regular season finishers from last season&mdash;Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Calgary and Boston-have all struggled this season. At various points, they all made major deals.And those changes did not bring the desired results, at least not immediately.&ldquo;St. Louis, Chicago and us, we had a lot of off-season moves,&rdquo; Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; coach Tom Webster said. &ldquo;It takes time to settle in. You can&rsquo;t just look at players on a piece of paper and say that they should fit in.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021090/6506661-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="552" height="771"><figcaption class="caption-body">Corey Millen</figcaption></div>Webster had the additional burden of dealing with serious injuries. &ldquo;You can replace the body at times,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but it&rsquo;s tough to replace the person.&rdquo;So players are not dealt capriciously.&ldquo;Changes are made for a reason,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A lot of meetings, a lot of discussions go into the changes that are made. A lot of times these things can&rsquo;t be discussed, so the things people look are statistics and numbers.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s funny how this business goes. At times it seems so easy. Why didn&rsquo;t you trade this guy last year when his trade value was high? But when you trade a guy at his height, then people ask Why the hell are you trading him for?&rsquo;&rdquo;The second-guessers have been busy this season, thanks to the many blockbuster trades.Chicago coach-general manager Mike Keenan tried to eliminate the weak links on his team, banishing Doug Wilson, Troy Murray, Trent Yawney, Wayne Presley, Adam Creighton and Steve Thomas. Those moves left his team short on offense, so Keenan later gambled on two enigmatic players&mdash;Rob Brown and Tony Hrkac.St. Louis GM Ron Caron invited relentless criticism by sending four players to Vancouver for aptly-named Garth Butcher at last year&rsquo;s trade deadline. Then the Blues signed free-agent Brendan Shanahan but lost Scott Stevens as compensation. That triggered a series of trades which completely re-shaped the Blues.In Los Angeles, the Kings seemed intent on reuniting the old Edmonton Oilers, bringing in Jari Kurri, Charlie Huddy and, most recently, Paul Coffey to join ex-colleagues Wayne Gretzky and Marty McSorley. If this was 1985, we would award the Kings the Stanley Cup today.Boston let Dave Christian go, swapped Garry Galley, then traded Craig Janney and Stephane Quintal to the Blues for Adam Oates. But with Cam Neely injured, the changes did little. And Calgary&rsquo;s 10-man megaswap with Toronto rivals the Brett Hull fiasco to Flames&rsquo; fans.These five former juggernauts were each threatening to finish 20 points off last season&rsquo;s pace. Meanwhile, some revamped also-rans were soaring thanks to deals which did work out.&ldquo;Look at the team that finished fourth in our division,&rdquo; Webster said. &ldquo;Vancouver made a couple of trades early on and it seemed to strengthen them. Same thing in Detroit, they made some moves.&rdquo;So changes aren&rsquo;t always for the worst. The Canucks revived careers of Cliff Ronning, Gerald Diduck, Dave Babych, Tom Fergus and others. The Red Wings made menaces out of Paul Ysebaert and Kelly Miller.There is no telling how humans will respond to new environments. In L.A., an easily overlooked deal brought the speed and spunk of Corey Millen. Fellow speedster Mike Donnelly, who never scored more than seven goals in an NHL season, was bidding for 30 on Millen&rsquo;s line.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t forget about the human element,&rdquo;Webster said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re dealing with people.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-01

Nobody has perfected trick of the trade

<div class="byline">By Dean Spiros</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03688/6506699-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Being traded to Chicago was a real eye-opener for Rob Brown, Hartford&rsquo;s top goal-scorer at the time of the deal. (Photo by Mei Bailey)</figcaption></div>Throughout his nearly five seasons in the NHL, right winger Rob Brown could be found doing what conies naturally. Both on and off the ice. Therein lies the problem.And there had to be a problem, of course. Why else would the Pittsburgh Penguins send him packing despite seeing him score 112 goals in 224 games? And just a year later, why else would the offense-starved Hartford Whalers trade their leading goal-scorer?Identifying the problem was easy; the kid is lazy. Getting him to change was the hard part. And since Jan. 25, the job has belonged to the Chicago Blackhawks.The Hawks knew what they were getting when they sent defenseman Steve Konroyd to Hartford for the 23-year-old Brown, just as they know what he can become.&ldquo;He has to be more professional in his approach,&rdquo; Hawks&rsquo; associate coach Darryl Sutter said. &ldquo;He has to decide how important his career is to him. He still has the ability to become a top contributor on any team. He&rsquo;s not a bad kid; he just needs some direction.&rdquo;While others have tried to show Brown the way, only to lose him in a personal fog, the Hawks took the gamble for one simple reason: they believe Brown is ready to change.&ldquo;My biggest problem was that I had a lot of success early in the league and I felt I didn&rsquo;t have to work hard,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;My first couple years things worked out so well I never felt I had to work hard to improve.&ldquo;It caught up with me. While the other players in the league were improving, I wasn&rsquo;t. Everything was too easy, too early, and I let it slip away from me.&rdquo;Ken Hitchcock couldn&rsquo;t agree more. The Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; assistant coached Brown in Kamloops of the Western League. He said Brown must make up for his skating deficiencies if he hopes to succeed.&ldquo;Guys who skate like Brownie have to be in 50-per-cent better shape and have to work twice as hard,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;And Brownie&rsquo;s barely able to approach the level of commitment of a good skater so he&rsquo;s even further behind.&rdquo;The Hawks like what they&rsquo;ve seen so far.&ldquo;His fitness level is improving,&rdquo; Hawks&rsquo; coach and general manger Mike Keenan said. &ldquo;I can see it in practice. We didn&rsquo;t expect things to change overnight. If he learns the things we&rsquo;re trying to teach him, he&rsquo;s going to be a good player for us.&rdquo;Brown has been asked by the Hawks to change his work habit, his eating habits and his overall approach to the game.&ldquo;For the first time in my career I&rsquo;m going to take the bull by the horns and go for it,&rdquo; Brown said.Brown has been skating on the Hawks&rsquo; second line alongside Brent Sutter and Tony Horacek. Keenan also has given him time on the power play. Brown has shown a soft touch with the puck around the net but was still looking for his first goal as a Blackhawk after nine games. He had 16 in 42 games as a power-play specialist with the Whalers.While Keenan acquired Brown for his offense, he&rsquo;s willing to be patient.&ldquo;For him to meet the demands we are asking of him is enough,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;Those are tough terms for someone to meet during the season.&rdquo; Hitchcock said Brown is in an ideal atmosphere in Chicago. If he can&rsquo;t get motivated to play for the Blackhawks he should have his pulse checked.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not a self-starter,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;When he knows you care enough to push him, he&rsquo;ll play hard for you.&rdquo;&ldquo;If I go out there, work hard, and do what I&rsquo;m told, everything will fall into place,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to blow this chance.&rdquo;Which is exactly the type of talk the Hawks want to hear. &#9632;

f0009-03

A Perfect Fit?

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div>This was supposed to be a season of glory for the St. Louis Blues, who hoped to cap their 25th anniversary with a serious run at the Stanley Cup.Unfortunately for the Blues, it has turned into a season of turmoil, a regrettable encore to their 105-point success of last year.The loss of captain and defensive stalwart Scott Stevens to New Jersey as compensation for Brendan Shanahan, as well as Adam Oates&rsquo; contract saga, demoralized a team that has scrambled all season to recapture last year&rsquo;s magic with a new cast of characters-12 new players from the end of last season.But the Blues aren&rsquo;t that bad off. They were three games over .500 after 62 games and playing better defensively. And Oates&rsquo; trade to Boston for Craig Janney lifted a dark cloud.With the book closed on the Oates&rsquo; saga, the Blues hope to write a happy ending to the season.Pivotal factors: 1. The continued good play of goalie Curtis Joseph. He must continue to shine. He is a strong candidate for team most valuable player honors. 2. Brett Hull&rsquo;s ability to prosper without good buddy Oates. 3. The checking line of Dave Lowry, Rich Sutter and Bob Bassen must contribute offensively down the stretch like it did last season.Hardware hopefuls: Hull, Hart; Nelson Emerson, Calder; Joseph, Vezina.Needs: A grinding winger who can score-Steve Thomas would be a welcome addition&mdash;and a veteran to back up Joseph.Available: Gino Cavallini, Kelly Chase, Darin Kimble, Jeff Brown or Paul Cavallini.Trade talk: Paul Cavallini to the New York Islanders for Steve Thomas.Above and beyond: Joseph. It&rsquo;s scary to think the Blues wanted to give him away as compensation for signing Shanahan.Down and out: Right winger Rich Sutter. He only had four goals in 61 games, down from 14 at the same time last season. Incredibly, coach Brian Sutter&rsquo;s brother rarely misses a shift, creating some uneasiness in the dressing room.NOTEBOOK: The Blues&rsquo; 4-2 loss to the Blackhawks Feb. 23 at Chicago Stadium dropped their record at the Stadium to 1-6-1 since an 8-2 loss in Game 7 of the 1990 Norris Division final. The Blues are 4-9-3 against Chicago in the last two regular seasons and 2-4-1 against them this season. The Blues will likely meet Chicago in the first round of the playoffs&hellip;Through Feb. 24, the Blues had lost just twice since trading Adam Oates to Boston for Craig Janney and Stephane Quintal Both losses came against Chicago.<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 20: Pat Jablonski, G. recalled from Peoria (IHL). Feb. 20: Guy Hebert, G. assigned to Peoria.ROSTERC&mdash;Craig Janney, Nelson Emerson, Ron Wilson, Dave Christian, Michel Mongeau.LW&mdash;Bob Bassen, Dave Lowry, Dave Mackey, Kelly Chase, Gino Cavallini.RW&mdash;Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan, Rich Sutter, Darin KimbleLD&mdash;Paul Cavallini, Jeff Brown, Murray Baron.RD&mdash;Rlck Zombo, Stephane Quintal, Garth ButcherG&mdash;Curtis Joseph, Pat Jablonski.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Ron Sutter. C. sprained right knee, day-to-day. &#9632;

Silver anniversary season could still end on high note

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div>In February, Mike Keenan was asked about the state of his hockey club.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re stuck in neutral,&rdquo; said the general manager-coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks were spinning their wheels entering the final quarter of the season.At times, they&rsquo;ve looked like a pretty good team with the kind of experienced people who could lead a spring challenge for the Stanley Cup.But at other times, the Hawks look destined for another early playoff exit.Pivotal Factors: 1. Are the Hawks deep enough defensively behind Chris Chelios and Steve Smith? 2. Can Ed Belfour and Dominik Hasek supply the kind of goaltending needed to make a long run in the playoffs? 3. If Jeremy Roenick, Steve Larmer and Michel Goulet are checked closely in the playoffs, the Hawks will find out how exactly much offensive ability Rob Brown. Brent Sutter and others have.Hardware Hopefuls: Chris Chelios, Norris; Jeremy Roenick, Hart.Needs: The Hawks could use another defenseman for the long haul, preferably one with experience. They were hoping to get Russian Igor Kravchuk following the Winter Olympics, but senior vice-president Bob Pulford thought the Hawks had only a 40 per cent chance of succeeding.Available; About the only Hawks who are untouchable at this point in the season are Roenick, Chelios, Belfour and Smith.Keenan was said to be shopping Greg Gilbert around before Gilbert broke his ankle. U.S. Olympic hero Ray LeBlanc is a goalie the Hawks might look to move since his stock may never be higher after a strong showing in Meribel.Trade Talk: Keenan has shown a tendency to trade so quickly, rumors don&rsquo;t have a chance to get started. It is believed Keenan would like to get Bob McGill back from San Jose.Above and beyond: Not many of the Hawks fit in here. The exception is Roenick, who has played a big part in most of the club&rsquo;s victories.Down and out: It&rsquo;s difficult to find fault in a guy who will get 30 goals and 80 points, but Larmer hasn&rsquo;t had the kind of season that was hoped.NOTEBOOK: Senior vice-president Bob Pulford returned from the Olympics in France less than optimistic about the Hawks&rsquo; chances to acquire Russian defenseman Igor Kravchuk this season. According to Pulford, Viktor Tikhonov, Kravchuk&rsquo;s coach with the Red Army club, is behind the holdup. &ldquo;The Red Army team starts its playoffs four or five days after the Olympics, and they want to do well,&rdquo; Pulford said.<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 17: Stu Grimson, LW. assigned to Indianapolis (IHL). Feb. 18: John Tonelli. LW. traded to Quebec for Jeff Jackson, LW; Steve Bancroft, D, and Trevor Dam. RW. recalled from Indianapolis. Feb. 19: Dean McAmmond, C-LW. recalled from Prince Albert (WHL): Dam and Bancroft assigned to Indianapolis. Feb. 21: Adam Bennett, D, recalled from Indianapolis.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Jeremy Roenick, Brent Sutter, Mike Hudson, Tony Hrkac.LW&mdash;Michel Goulet Dean McAmmond, Tony Horacek, Mike Peluso, Jeff Jackson.RW&mdash;Steve Larmer, Rob Brown, Dirk Graham, Jocelyn Lemieux.LD&mdash;Steve Smith, Frantisek Kucera, Cam Russell.RD&mdash;Chris Chelios, Bryan Marchment, Adam Bennett.G&mdash;Ed Belfour, Dominik Hasek.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Keith Brown. D. sprained right ankle, day-to-day. Rod Buskas, D, broken ankle, indefinite. Greg Gilbert, LW, broken right ankle, indefinite. Stephane Matteau, LW, broken left fool indefinite. Brian Noonan, RW, tom left knee ligaments, indefinite. Dan Vincelette, LW, sprained left knee, indefinite. &#9632;

Getting in gear a struggle

<div class="byline">By Gary Olson</div>Three-quarters of the way through another season, the Minnesota North Stars seemed on the road to nowhere. Again.Even the competitive fires that bum in general manager Bob Clarke and coach Bob Gainey haven&rsquo;t warmed the Stars this season. The players saw what they could do when they got hot last spring but have chosen the easy way into the post-season. Again.A look back to last season reveals a team getting better as early as December. That hasn&rsquo;t happened this season and Gainey, ever the stoic, seems troubled by the difficulty he has had convincing his best players to play their best.Pivotal factors: 1. Jon Casey has to play better. He certainly hasn&rsquo;t played like a close-to-a-$ 1 million-a-year-goalie very often since he signed a contract that averages $900,000 per year until 1995. The man who led the Stars&rsquo; playoff run last year has a goals-against average on the road nearly a goal higher than bargain backup Darcy Wakaluk. 2. Team defense. It has been seven years and five coaches since Lorne Henning first tried to sell the Stars on the concept of taking care of business in their end. Unless the team buys Gainey&rsquo;s approach there&rsquo;s little future in the future. 3. The defense is in shambles. Derian Hatcher, Rob Ramage and Al Pedersen are hurt, Mark Tinordi is still recovering from injuries.Hardware hopefuls: Ulf Dahlen, Lady Byng.Needs: The defense screams for help. Curt Giles would be welcomed back from the Canadian Olympic team with open arms. A big, tough center and offensive defenseman would be nice.Available: Everyone but Hatcher.Trade talk: Brian Bellows to the New York Rangers for James Patrick and Paul Broten.Above and beyond: Wakaluk started the season without fanfare but has played extremely well in a backup role. He was flirting with a .500 record for a team that wasn&rsquo;t.Down and out: So many candidates, so little space. Neal Broten&rsquo;s 39-game drought between goals earns him the distinction ahead of Jon Casey, Brian Bellows, Mike Modano, Brian Propp and Rob Ramage, among others. Broten the team&rsquo;s career scoring leader, signed a four-year, $3.4-million contract before the season and has played most of this season like he wanted to earn it somewhere else.NOTEBOOK: Brian Bellows was fined $500 by the NHL for comments he made about the officiating in the Stars&rsquo; Feb. 5 overtime loss in Toronto. That was the game that referee Don Koharski called two penalties in the final 33 seconds of the third period to send the Stars into overtime down two skaters. The Maple Leafs won the game 3-2&hellip;Bellows&rsquo; two goals in a 5-4 loss to the New York Rangers Feb. 19 made him the Stars&rsquo; career goal leader with 335, two more than Dino Ciccarelli.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 20: Richard Matvichuk. D, recalled from Saskatoon (WHL). Feb. 22: Steve Maltais, LW, recalled from Kalamazoo (IHL). Matvichuk returned to Saskatoon.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Bobby Smith, Dave Gagner, Neal Broten, Todd Elik.LW&mdash;Brian Bellows, Gaetan Duchesne, Derrick Smith, Steve Maltais.RW&mdash;Ulf Dahlen, Mike Modano, Mike Craig, Basil McRae.LD&mdash;Mark Tinordi, Craig Ludwig, Enrico Ciccone.RD&mdash;Chris Dahlquist, Jim Johnson. David Shaw.G&mdash;Jon Casey, Darcy Wakaluk.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Marc Bureau, C, separated right shoulder, indefinite Shane Churla, RW, separated left shoulder, day-to-day. Stewart Gavin, RW, strained grain muscle, day-to-day. Derian Hatcher. D, broken right ankle, indefinite. Rob Ramage, D. left knee surgery, indefinite. Al Pedersen. D. abdominal surgery, indefinite. Brian Propp, LW, dislocated right shoulder, indefinite. &#9632;

Another miracle finish unlikely for this cast of underachievers

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div>The establishment of a foundation for future success was Cliff Fletcher&rsquo;s goal this season, as he tried to rebuild a franchise which was mismanaged for two decades.It appears the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager has succeeded. A terrible first half has given way to a respectable post-Christmas, and the team now has strong assets in Grant Fuhr and Doug Gilmour.The most realistic goal for the Leafs would be to play .500 for the rest of the season. A playoff spot is their ultimate goal but not necessarily realistic.Pivotal factors: 1. Team health. The Leafs are so talent-thin injuries to key players will be disatrous. 2. Doug Gilmour. He has shown he can carry the Leafs but can he keep it up? 3. The impact of post-Olympic additions. Russian defenseman Dmitri Mironov, U.S. forward Joe Sacco and Canadian winger Kent Manderville were set to join the Leafs after the Winter Olympics.Hardware hopefuls: None.Needs: Mobility on defense. Mironov may help but the Leafs need much more than that. The Leafs also need toughness. They don&rsquo;t have a bonafide enforcer, and not many grinders or hitters. Speed up front would also help. Toronto is one of the slowest teams in the NHL.Available: Right winger Glenn Anderson, left winger Wendel Clark, goalie Felix Potvin and right winger Daniel Marois.Trade talk: The Leafs will do everything they can to land Eric Lindros, with Potvin and cash their most appealing bait.Above and beyond: Gilmour. Everyone knew he was good but not this good.Down and out: Center Mike Krushelnyski. He has contributed almost nothing offensively after signing a lucrative contract.NOTEBOOK: A rumor began spreading around the NHL in midFebruary that the Leafs had transferred $20 million to the Quebec Nordiques in preparation for a monster deal that would bring Eric Lindros to Toronto. The Nordiques were supposedly going to receive prospects Yanic Perreault and Felix Potvin as well as right winger Daniel Marois and a number of first-round draft choices. Both sides denied the rumor&hellip;Goalie Grant Fuhr returned Feb. 23 in a 4-3 loss to St. Louis, 11 days after injuring his right knee.After a 7-1 loss in Pittsburgh Feb. 18, the Leafs had lost their last two games at the Civic Arena by a combined 19-2 score.&hellip;Cliff Fletcher was to undergo magnetic resonance imagery for back and neck pain after returning from the Winter Olympics.Damien Cox is a hockey writer for the Toronto Star.<h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.ROSTERC&mdash;Doug Gilmour, Peter Claude Loiselle, Brian Bradley.LW&mdash;Mike Krushelnyski, Clark, Guy Larose, Mike Bullard.RW&mdash;Glenn Anderson, Lucien Debtors, Daniel Marois, Rob Pearson, Kevin McClelland, Greg Johnston.LD&mdash;Dave Ellett, Jamie Macoun, Darryl Shannon. Todd GillRD&mdash;Bob Rouse, Ric Nattress, Bob Halkidis.G&mdash;Rick Wamsley, Grant Fuhr, Damian Rhodes.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mike Foligno, RW, broken left leg, indefinite, Kevin Maguire, RW. bruised back, indefinite. &#9632;

Fletcher establishes stability but foundation lacks support

<div class="byline">By Keith Gave</div>In less than two seasons, the Detroit Red Wings have risen from the graveyard of non-playoff teams into a serious Stanley Cup contender.How? Two reasons, one of them often overlooked.First&mdash;and most apparent-is the series of shrewd trades and free-agent acquisitions by general manager coach Bryan Murray that brought forwards Paul Ysebaert (for Lee Norwood), Kevin Miller (for Joe Kocur) and Alan Kerr (for Rick Green), defenseman Bobby Dollas (free-agent without compensation) and goaltenders Vince Riendeau (for Rick Zombo) and Greg Millen (for a late-round pick).Second&mdash;and most forgotten-is a legacy of sound drafting that allowed Murray to inherit a nucleus that includes forwards Shawn Burr, Sergei Fedorov, Keith Primeau, Bob Probert and Steve Yzerman, defensemen Steve Chiasson, Vladimir Konstantinov, Nicklas Lidstrom and Yves Racine and goal tender Tim Cheveldae.The result is a team widely recognized as one of the NHL&rsquo;s most talented, and one that could play the role of favorite heading into the playoffs.Pivotal factors: 1. How much Tim Cheveldae will have left after playing 70-plus regular-season games. 2. Can the youngsters, especially Sergei Fedorov and first-year defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov, hold up past the 80-game schedule? 3. As much attention as Lidstrom and Konstantinov have received, the Wings relied heavily on the experience of two older defensemen, Brad McCrimmon and Brad Marsh. Can they keep it up when playoff games go every other night?Hardware hopefuls: Cheveldae, Hart; Lidstrom, Calder and Norris; Fedorov, Seike; Murray, Adams.Needs: A tough defenseman. Murray would have liked to add a big scoring winger such as Rick Tocchet, but that one got away.Available: Jimmy Carson, Brent Fedyk, Sheldon Kennedy, Mike Sillinger, Johan Garpenlov, Brian MacClellan, Steve Chiasson, Yves Racine, Bobby Delias, Doug Crossman.Trade talk: Eric Lindros but not until the off-season. The Wings continue to deny it, but thinking around the league is that they&rsquo;re showcasing their youngsters down the stretch to groom them for a Lindros blockbuster.Above and beyond: Paul Ysebaert. Nobody expected him to produce goals the way he has.Down and out: Yves Racine. He hasn&rsquo;t produced many points but has contributed in other areas.NOTEBOOK: Russian forward Viacheslav Kozlov has been given clearance by Red Wings&rsquo; physicians to begin working out with the team. But before he can play in Detroit, the Red Wings must make a deal with Russian hockey officials for his release. The Wings didn&rsquo;t announce it, but it is believed they have Kozlov&rsquo;s signature on a three-year contract worth $250,000 a season.<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 24: Jamie Pushor, D (Lethbridge. WHL), signed three-year contract.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Steve Yzerman, Jimmy Carson, Sergei Fedorov, Kevin Miller.LW&mdash;Keith Primeau, Sheldon Kennedy, Shawn Burr, Brent Fedyk, Johan Garpenlov, Brian MacLellan.RW&mdash;Ray Sheppard, Bob Probert, Paul Ysebaert, Alan Kerr.LD&mdash;Nicklas Lidstrom, Vladimir Konstantinov, Doug Crossman.RD&mdash;Brad McCrimmon, Brad Marsh, Steve Chiasson, Bobby Dollas.G&mdash;Tim Cheveldae, Greg Millen.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Troy Crowder, RW, bulging disc in back, indefinite. Gerard Gaitant, LW, strained right wrist day-to-day Vincent Riendeau, G, right knee surgery, day-to-day. &#9632;

Pieces almost in place

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011456/6506857-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="364" height="466"></div>Craig Patrick looked at his roster and saw arguably the most talented collection of players in the NHL.Then he looked at the standings, and saw that 10 teams were doing as well or better than the Pittsburgh Penguins. At which point Patrick decided his team needed a new look. Immediately.Patrick, the Pittsburgh general manager, had reached the same conclusion last March and put together a six-player trade with Hartford that produced an unthinkable result: a Stanley Cup celebration in Pittsburgh. Which is no harder to imagine than, say, Argentina leaving Albertville with the gold medal in hockey.Whether the deals Patrick made with Los Angeles and Philadelphia can have the same impact is uncertain-perhaps even unlikely-but there&rsquo;s no disputing his willingness to radically change the formula that produced a championship less than nine months earlier.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021034/6506850-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="557" height="702"><figcaption class="caption-body">Craig Patrick</figcaption></div>Patrick surrendered two of his most marketable assets, defenseman Paul Coffey and right winger MarkRecchi, in a bold attempt to give the Penguins the toughness he believes they need to have a legitimate chance at defending their title this spring.No one familiar with the Penguins questioned the need for more muscle and improved defensive play, which is what Pittsburgh is counting on Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson and Jeff Chychrun to provide, but Patrick had to give up a big part of his team&rsquo;s nucleus to secure it.Coffey is simply the finest skater in the game, the most prolific offensive defenseman in hockey history and a guy who can feel free to begin working on his Hall of Fame induction speech any minute now.Recchi, who leaves behind little puddles of character and intensity on those rare occasions when he stops moving for a few seconds, is a creative playmaker with a lethal scoring touch and repertoire. And at 24, figures to be a few seasons from reaching his professional prime.Patrick recognized the dimensions Coffey and Recchi added to his team. He understood their importance. Appreciated their contributions. And realized he would have to part with them if he wanted to assemble the type if team he felt was needed to make a serious run at another Cup.How much the deals improved the Penguins will be conjecture for a while but there&rsquo;s no doubt they are a different team since Patrick pulled the trigger Feb. 19. The trades figure to have a dramatic effect on the Penguins&rsquo; style of play, maybe even a profound impact on their identity. They still won&rsquo;t be looking to win games by scores like 2-1 but management clearly wearied of watching the Pens play something that resembled indoor soccer on ice.&ldquo;Our objective was to improve our team defensively and to improve our physical presence,&rdquo; Patrick said.His logic is sound. The Penguins proved they could play decent defense during the playoffs last spring but haven&rsquo;t been inclined to do it much since this season began. If it&rsquo;s true defense wins championships, the Penguins&rsquo; chances of repeating were microscopic before the trades.Samuelsson and Chychrun will be counted on to help reduce the terrible swelling in Pittsburgh&rsquo;s goals-against average by keeping the front of the net clear. Tocchet will be expected to provide a little defensive conscience up front and contribute goals at his customary pace.Pittsburgh players had been expecting Coffey to be traded for months but Recchi&rsquo;s departure sent shock waves through the dressing room. He was universally liked and respected by his teammates, and many Pittsburgh players were not reluctant to express their reservations, both personal and professional, about seeing him go.Patrick anticipated such a backlash, understood cutting two large pieces from the core of his team was sure to provoke a reaction that would not always be favorable.&ldquo;We feel we&rsquo;ve improved our hockey club and everybody in our organization will realize that, whether it&rsquo;s today or tomorrow or next week or next month,&rdquo; he said.But the real issue is whether they will be able to prove it in April. &#9632;

f0013-01

Standing pat not Patrick’s style

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti Senior Writer</div>Following an inaugural year during which he was ridiculed and mocked for staying the course with a sinking ship, Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; general manager Russ Farwell has spent the past 10 months plotting an entirely new one.The question now is whether Farwell&rsquo;s ship is three sheets to the wind or if all the tacking he has done will get it back into the race with the heavily-armed warships of the Patrick Division.One thing for sure is the Flyers cannot be judged on the same course as the top four teams in the division. With Farwell at the helm, the harbor is not in sight this spring and may be a season or two on the horizon.Even club president Jay Snider admitted as much when he recently said the Flyers were &ldquo;living in the future.&rdquo;If not brighter, that future became clearer Feb. 19 when Farwell made his boldest move yet as a general manager by trading popular captain Rick Tocchet, along with veterans Kjell Samuelsson and Ken Wregget to the Pittsburgh Penguins.After all the maneuvers with the Los Angeles Kings and Penguins had finished, the Flyers were left with Mark Recchi, Brian Benning and a 1992 first-round draft pick from the Kings.In its simplest form, Farwell engineered another deal to make the Flyers younger and more skilled: the team picked up four years in the Recchi (24) for Tocchet (turns 28 in April) trade; eight years in the Benning (25) for Samuelsson (33) swap; and a first-round draft pick for Wregget.At the same time, the Flyers made a major philosophical change by opting for Recchi&rsquo;s soft hands and deft skills over Tocchet&rsquo;s brass-knuckle approach.Tocchet&rsquo;s style typified what the team used to be about; the Bobby Clarke-type player, who turned into Mel Bridgman, and on down the line to Mike Ricci.It was not easy to surrender Tocchet. In fact, the Flyers were so worried about subtracting him from their roster they were unwilling to sign Recchi to an offer sheet last summer when he was a free agent. They thought they might lose Tocchet as compensation.Why the change of heart 60 games into the season?More than just suffering with Tocchet&rsquo;s bad season, the Flyers have re-affirmed their commitment for the future. If it looks like the Kings are trying to win the 1985 Stanley Cup, then it looks like the Flyers are trying to win the 1995 Cup. Farwell has sent 11 regulars away since the end of last season, including captains Tocchet and Ron Sutter. In return, the Flyers have added 11 players, including nucleus players such as Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, 21, Steve Duchesne, Kevin Dineen and now Recchi and Benning.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03777/6506888-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="939" height="1833"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Flyers are building their team around youngsters such as Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour. (Photo by Brian Winkler/BBS)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We wanted a legitimate goalscorer,&rdquo; said Farwell, who then added the key phrase-&rdquo;and he had to be the right age.&rdquo;In other words, the Flyers were not interested in a deal for a guy such as Joey Mullen, who has certainly helped the Penguins since they brought him aboard two years ago.The Flyers are not fooling themselves with visions of their names on the Cup this spring, or even next. But with an important commitment from management and the belief their fans will stick with them through the process, the club is adding cinder blocks for the future.It was indeed ironic the Flyers made this move just three days after a major confrontation against Pittsburgh at the Spectrum on the previous Sunday. The Flyers had been pointing to that game, and if they had defeated the Penguins they would have drawn within four points of the Pens for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Patrick.The Flyers actually made the deal with the team they were chasing for a playoff spot, a truly startling maneuver.That the Flyers were willing to pull the trigger on this should also be more proof Farwell is steadfast and sure that his game plan is correct. It&rsquo;s one thing to chart a plan, and quite another to have the courage of your convictions to the point of sending the franchise player to a divisional rival.&ldquo;Trading within your own division is not done much,&rdquo; Farwell said, &ldquo;but maybe I have not caught on to that.&ldquo;Our focus was narrowed on a young goal-scorer, and we have to be more concerned about our team and not so particular about how we got him.&rdquo;In other words, damn the torpedoes on the other guy&rsquo;s ship, the Flyers are only worried about getting their own boat afloat and charting a course for the future. &#9632;

f0013-03

Making Waves

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div>If the pre-season forecasts had been accurate. Herb Brooks would&rsquo;ve been coaching the New Jersey Devils months ago. Tom McVie wasn&rsquo;t supposed to survive past Christmas.Brooks, of course, was still coaching at the Devils&rsquo; American League farm team in Utica, while McVie had the Devils 17 games over .500 through Feb. 24 and challenging the Rangers and Capitals for Stanley Cup home-ice advantage in the Patrick Division.To the surprise of many, the Devils enjoyed their success without injured 45-goal scorer John MacLean and estranged goalie Sean Burke. They also played most of the first 60 games without center Patrik Sundstrom and left winger Zdeno Ciger.Pivotal factors: 1. The severity of Scott Stevens&rsquo; recent knee injury will determine how high the Devils can climb in the standings and what chances they will be in the post-season. 2. Whether or not Peter Stastny, the Devils&rsquo; No. 1 center, can return to form. 3. General manager Lou Lam-oriello&rsquo;s ability to parlay Burke into a scoring forward.Hardware hopefuls: Kevin Todd, Calder; Stevens, Norris; McVie, Adams.Needs: Foremost among the Devils&rsquo; needs is a center who can put the puck in the net. Stastny&rsquo;s slump left the team with Todd (16 goals), Laurie Boschman (eight) and Dave Barr (six) as the remaining centers.Available: Burke and defenseman Eric Weinrich.Trade talk: The hottest rumor is Burke to Detroit for Jimmy Carson.Above and beyond: Many were hoping for a 50-goal season from an ex-Montreal Canadien. But it has been Claude Lemieux-not Stephane Richer-who was on a 50-goal pace while enjoying a career season. Lemieux had 36 goals in 55 games.Down and out: Sundstrom was projected as the team&rsquo;s No. 1 center in training camp. Injuries have limited him to just 17 games, during which he was mostly ineffective. He had one goal and four points.NOTEBOOK: Dave Barr, who suffered a severed artery and tendon in his right wrist from a skate cut in Winnipeg Feb. 21, underwent successful surgery Feb. 23&hellip;The Devils are optimistic John MacLean could be ready to play for the playoffs. MacLean has been out all season with tom right knee ligaments.<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 19: Bill Guerin. RW, recalled from Utica (AHL). Chad Erickson, G, assigned to Utica. Feb. 24: Myles O&rsquo;Connor. D, and Jason Miller. C, recalled from Utica. Patrik Sundstrom. C, and Alexander Semak, C, assigned to Utica.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Kevin Todd, Peter Stastny, Laurie Boschman, Jason Miller.LW&mdash;Valen Zelepukin, Claude VHgrain, Doug Brown, Tom Chorske, Troy Mallette.RW&mdash;Stephane Richer, Claude Lemieux, Randy McKay, Bill Guerin.LD&mdash;Bruce Driver, Viacheslav Fetisov, Tommy Albelin.RD&mdash;Alexei Kasatonov, Eric Weinrich, Ken Daneyko, Myles O&rsquo;Connor.G&mdash;Chris Terreri, Craig Billington.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dave Barr, C, right wrist surgery, indefinite. Zdeno Ciger, LW, right wrist surgery, day-to-day Pat Conacher, LW, hernia surgery, indefinite. John MacLean, RW, strained right knee ligaments. indefinite. Scott Stevens. D, strained right knee ligaments, day-to-day. &#9632;

Scoring at center of problem; Burke trade may be solution

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div>The Pittsburgh Penguins are the defending Stanley Cup champions. You know that&rsquo;s true, because it says so on the banner hanging from the ceiling at the Civic Arena.But it&rsquo;s a good thing that banner is there, because the Penguins didn&rsquo;t do much through the first three-quarters of the season to give the impression that they&rsquo;re a championship-caliber team.Pittsburgh expected to contend for another Patrick Division championship this season but those hopes were all but gone by mid-February.The main objective now is to build momentum during the final weeks of the regular season and enter the playoffs with a full head of steam.Pivotal factors: 1. Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s health. The Penguins are a legitimate threat to beat any team with Lemieux in the lineup. Without him, however, they lose offense, leadership and intensity. 2. Maintaining a low goals-against average. The Penguins won&rsquo;t win any awards for team defense and they have sprung huge leaks throughout the season. They proved they can play well defensively during the 1991 playoffs, and the time has come to show they can still do it consistently. 3. Team chemistry. Major trades with Philadelphia and Los Angeles Feb. 19 changed the structure of the lineup. The Penguins must settle on their new identity and fine-tune their revamped approach to the game.Hardware hopefuls: Mario Lemieux, Hart; Kevin Stevens, Hart; Larry Murphy, Norris; Joe Mullen, Lady Byng.Needs: The trades that brought Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson and Jeff Chychrun filled the Penguins&rsquo; need for toughness. But they need a good point man to replace Coffey on the power play, a quality penaltykiller and an oversized forward with a mean streak.Available: Wendell Young, Frank Pietrangelo, Paul Stanton.Trade talk: Nothing major is in the works now that Coffey was dispatched to Los Angeles. But it&rsquo;s virtually guaranteed a goalie will be dealt before the March 10 trade deadline.Above and beyond: Larry Murphy supplanted Coffey as the Penguins&rsquo; No. 1 defenseman by being consistent and productive at both ends.Down and out: A tie between center Ron Francis and defenseman Ulf Samuelsson. Both are key members of the team, but the Penguins wanted more offense from Francis (36 points in 50 games) and more nastiness from Samuelsson.NOTEBOOK: The Penguins believe their frequent run-ins with officials this season are beginning to hurt them. &ldquo;You can see that all the referees are after us now,&rdquo; Mario Lemieux said. Added goalie Tom Barrasso: &ldquo;Referees have a very, very low tolerance for our team, but that&rsquo;s not to say it&rsquo;s undeserved.&rdquo;<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 19: Paul Coffey, D. traded to Los Angeles for Jeff Chychrun, D, Brian Benning, D, and a 1992 first-round draft choice. Mark Recchi, RW, Brian Benning, D, and Los Angeles draft choice traded to Philadelphia for Rick Tocchet. RW, Kjell Samuelsson. D, Ken Wregget, G, and a conditional 1993 draft choice.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier, Ken Priestlay, Jiri Hrdina.LW&mdash;Kevin Stevens, Phil Bourque, Troy Loney, Phil Bourque.RW&mdash;Rick Tocchet, Joe Mullen, Jaromir Jagr, Jamie Leach, Jay Caufield.LD&mdash;Ulf Samuelsson, Gordie Roberts, Jim Paek.RO&mdash;Larry Murphy, Paul Stanton, Jeff Chychrun, Kjell Samuelsson.G&mdash;Tom Barrasso, Ken Wregget, Frank Pietrangelo, Wendell Young.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Bob Errey. LW. pulled hamstring, day-to-day. Grant Jennings, D, dislocated finger on left hand, day-to-day. Peter Tagllanettl, D. back pain, day-to-day. &#9632;

Healthy Lemieux the key

<div class="byline">By Frank Brown</div>Almost everyone you talk to around the NHL these days likes the New York Rangers and their post-season chances. The only problem is, they have merited such consideration before and have failed to produce.Often in past years, their regularseason success has led to them being overrated when the playoffs begin. Because of underachieving performances their past two playoffs, the Rangers&rsquo; post-season credibility is very low-although this Ranger team has changed so much from last season&rsquo;s team, it is tempting to fall into the same optimistic trap.Pivotal factors: 1. General manager Neil Smith&rsquo;s ability to obtain leftshooting defensemen for depth behind Brian Leetch. They&rsquo;ve gotten away without one so far but the playoffs could be a different story. 2. Health of the critical players (Mark Messier, Leetch, Adam Graves). Messier is the whole show. Leetch may be having a Norris Trophy season but a lot of that seems to be due to Messier&rsquo;s influence. 3. The performance of the power play. The Rangers have gotten their share of man-advantage goals but the power play is not the intimidating threat it once was, and in the playoffs, the best intimidation is a power play that makes the other team pay for every penalty it takes.Hardware hopefuls: Messier, Hart; Leetch, Norris; Leetch, Lady Byng; Roger Neilson. Adams.Needs: A left defenseman and a scoring left winger.Available: John Ogrodnick, Randy Moller, Normand Rochefort, Rick Bennett, JeffBloemberg.Trade talk: An Edmonton defenseman could be coming for cash.Above and beyond: Adam Graves, a seven-goal scorer last season, has been a key addition.Down and out: John Ogrodnick&rsquo;s poor season is as much management&rsquo;s fault as the player&rsquo;s. Ogrodnick was part of a productive line with Kelly Kisio and Brian Mullen; when the latter two were removed over the summer, Ogrodnick needed new linemates and never really meshed with any.NOTEBOOK: The Rangers trailed Minnesota 4-1 after seven minutes of the third period Feb. 21 but then enjoyed 4:31 of two-man advantage. Referee Dan Marouelli ejected Todd Elik for slashing Tony Amonte and Gaetan Duchesne for high sticking Darren Turcotte. The Rangers scored four times to post a 54 win.<h2>N.Y. RANGERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 19: Mike Gartner, RW, given three-game NHL suspension for slashing Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Ulf Samuelsson Eligible to return Feb. 25.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mark Messier, Sergei Nemchinov, Darren Turcotte, Doug Weight.LW&mdash;Adam Graves, Kris King, Randy Gilhen, Rob Zamuner.RW&mdash;Mike Gartner, Tony Amonte, Paul Broten, Tie Domi.LD&mdash;Brian Leetch, Joe Cirella, Normand Rochefort, Randy Moller.RD&mdash;James Patrick, Jeff Beukeboom, Per Djoos.G&mdash;John Vanbiesbrouck, Boris Rousson.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jan Erixon, LW, nerve irritation, neck, day-to-day. Mark Hardy, D, separated right shoulder, day-to-day. Tim Kerr, RW, irritation, right knee, day-today. Joe Kocur, RW, separated left shoulder, muscle spasms, day-to-day. Mike Richter, G, tom muscle, right thigh, day-to-day. &#9632;

New-look team has leadership to exorcise its playoff ghosts

<div class="byline">By Mark Herrmann</div>Assessing their season up to now, the New York Islanders can consider themselves successful in making the rest of the season worth watching.They appeared all but finished at the midway point, looking at a 12-point gap to fourth place and an injury-riddled roster. But an early February surge, combined with a Pittsburgh tailspin, brought the Islanders within three points of fourth place through Feb. 24 and revived playoff hopes.A reshaped roster, potent power play, maturing defense and greater offensive balance than they&rsquo;ve had in years all changed the Islanders&rsquo; prospects.They still have a tall hurdle to clear&mdash;the defending Stanley Cup champions-but they are surprisingly still in the running.Pivotal factors: I. Goalie Mark Fitzpatrick&rsquo;s continued health. His return gave the Islanders more defensive stability and brought out the best in fellow goalie Glenn Healy. 2. The scoring ability of Pierre Turgeon&rsquo;s line. The gifted center has helped stabilize streaky wingers Derek King and David Volek. 3. Attention to checking. The Islanders&rsquo; goal-scoring potential occasionally sweeps them into unwanted run-and-gun games.Hardware hopefuls: None.Needs: A big, physical center to check Mark Messier, Mario Lemieux and other Patrick mainstays. More size on the wings, preferably forwards who can hit and score.Available: Adam Creighton.Trade talk: General manager Bill Torrey is talking and there are rumors other teams would like to have Rob DiMaio. The Islanders would like Joel Otto.Above and beyond: Ray Ferraro&rsquo;s 30 goals and gritty plays and, above all, emergence as the team&rsquo;s dominant personality have far exceeded projections.Down and out: Looking at Creighton&rsquo;s physique-6-foot-5, 214 pounds&mdash;and his 34-goal total two seasons ago, the. Islanders thought he would be a towering force. Instead, he had gone one stretch of five weeks without a goal and has bounced from center to left wing, from the No. 2 line occasionally to the fourth line.NOTEBOOK: U.S. Olympic team members Scott Lachance&mdash;the defenseman the Islanders selected No. 1 in the entry draft last June&mdash;and center Marty McInnis, chosen in the eighth round in 1988, were expected to sign contracts after returning from France. McInnis&rsquo; stock rose dramatically after his strong performance with the U.S. team&hellip;Defenseman Vladimir Malakhov of the Unified Team will probably not join the Islanders this year. General manager Bill Torrey said United team coach Viktor Tikhonov wants to keep Malakhov on the team for the World Championships.Pierre Turgeon had an 18-game scoring streak through Feb. 24, third best in Islander history.<h2>N.Y. ISLES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 18: Steve Weeks. G. traded to Los Angeles for a 1992 seventh-round draft pick.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pierre Turgeon, Ray Ferraro, Hubie McDonough, Dave McLIwaln.LW&mdash;Derek King, Steve Thomas, Bill Berg, Adam Creighton.RW&mdash;David Volek, Benoit Hogue, Tom Fitzgerald, Mick Vukota.LO&mdash;Dennis Vaske, Gary Nylund, Ken Baumgartner.RD&mdash;Tom Kurvers, Rich Piton, Jeff Finley, Dean Chynoweth.G&mdash;Mark Fitzpatrick, Glenn Healy.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Brad Datgamo, RW. broken left wrist, March 15. Rob DiMalo, C, sprained right wrist and bruised right knee, indefinite. Patrick Flatley. RW. broken right thumb, indefinite. Rick Green. D, fractured right foot, March 8. Uwe Krupp. D, bruised left knee, day-to-day. Wayne McBean. D, tom left knee ligament, out for season. Jeff Norton, D, tom left wrist ligament, out for season Joe Reekie. D, fractured left knuckle, indefinite. &#9632;

Playoffs remain a reality

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div>The Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; main goal this season was simple: make it to the post-season for the first time since 1988-89. But to the trained eye, the Flyers had a greater objective: build the team for future success.While the Flyers probably won&rsquo;t accomplish their first goal, they did acquire personnel they think will turn them into a contender once more.Pivotal factors: 1. Newly-acquired Mark Recchi&rsquo;s ability to supply instant offense. If he can, the Flyers still have a slight chance for the playoffs. 2. The health of the veterans. The Flyers have been handicapped by long stretches without Mark Howe (broken thumb), Keith Acton (broken wrist), Steve Kasper (knee surgery) and Pelle Eklund (sprained knee). 3. The continued improvement of rookie defenseman Dan Kordic. Kordic has more responsibility now that Kjell Samuelsson is in Pittsburgh.Hardware hopefuls: None.Needs: The Flyers need more scoring despite the acquisition of Recchi. They averaged just over three goals per game and were only 6-24-7 when they failed to score four or moregoals in a game.Available: Everyone except Rod Blind&rsquo;Amour, Recchi and Mike Ricci.Trade talk: Steve Duchesne&rsquo;s name has come up partly because he is in the option year of his contract and the two sides are reportedly far apart.Above and beyond: Brind&rsquo;Amour. After the badmouthing he took in last year&rsquo;s bungled Brendan Shanahan free-agent signing, no one was sure what to expect. But the 21-year-old center has responded with an excellent year and will probably earn team most-valuable-player honors.Down and out: Eklund. The Swedish center missed about a third of the season due to injury after signing a big contract in the off-season. When he has played, he hasn&rsquo;t showed the play making skills that made him so dangerous in the late 1980s.NOTEBOOK: Mark Recchi made an auspicious debut with the Flyers after coming over from the Pittsburgh Penguins. He scored on his first shot and later added a goal and an assist in a 7-5 loss at Washington Feb. 22. Recchi assisted on Mike Ricci&rsquo;s goal the next night in a 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Rangers&hellip; Mark Howe strained his lower back in the game at New Jersey and sat out the games against Washington and New York.<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 19: Rick Tocchet. RW, Kjell Samuelsson, D, Ken Wregget, G, and a conditional third-round pick in 1992 draft traded to Pittsburgh for Mark Recchi. RW, Brian Benning, D. and Los Angeles&rsquo; No. 1 pick in 1992 draft Pat Murray. LW, assigned to Hershey (AHL). Feb. 20: Dominic Roussel, G, recalled from Hershey.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour. Mike Ricci, Dan Quinn, Mark Freer.LW&mdash;Mark Pederson, Claude Boivin, Pelle Eklund, Keith Acton.RW&mdash;Mark Recchi, Kevin Dineen, Al Conroy, Dale Kushner, Dave Brown.LD&mdash;Terry Carkner, Kerry Huffman, Dan Kordic, Brian Benning.RD&mdash;Steve Duchesne, Garry Galley, Corey Foster.G&mdash;Ron Hextall, Dominic Roussel.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mark Howe, D. strained lower back, day-to-day. Brad Jones, RW, broken right ankle, indefinite. Steve Kasper. C, right knee surgery, indefinite. Andrei Lomakin, LW, broken left thumb, indefinite. &#9632;

Recchi beefs up lean offense but more scoring help needed

<div class="byline">By Dave Sell</div>The Washington Capitals&rsquo; enduring memory of last spring was an offense that couldn&rsquo;t score in the playoffs.And that memory could haunt them again this season, if things don&rsquo;t change before the post-season.On the surface, it appears the Capitals have conquered their scoring woes. They scored 261 goals through 61 games, three more than last season&rsquo;s 80-game total of 258. But their scoring has dipped since the all-star break. The Capitals averaged 4.5 goals-per game before the break, 4.0 goals-per game after it. The result was essentially a .500 team riding the wave of a 17-5-0 start.Pivotal factors: 1. The offensive input from the forwards. After a big start, the Capitals&rsquo; offense has cooled off and the forwards must pick up the slack. Defensemen Kevin Hatcher, Calle Johansson and Al lafrate can&rsquo;t carry the team on their own. 2. Goaltending from Don Beaupre. After experiencing an early-January slump, Beaupre has returned to form. He must remain strong if the Capitals hope to experience playoff success. 3. The team&rsquo;s health. It has avoided serious injuries all season and has used just 26 players, three of which are goalies. Shawn Chambers&rsquo; recurring knee problem has been the only problem spot.Hardware hopefuls: Kelly Miller, Seike; Terry Murray, Adams.Needs: The Capitals need a big, strong forward in the Kevin Stevens mold.Trade talk: General Manager David Poile insists he isn&rsquo;t looking for anyone. Poile says he&rsquo;s happy with the personnel he has. But it would not be like for him go an entire regular season without making a deal.Available: John Druce.Above and beyond: Randy Burridge. He has always been recognized as a hard-working, two-way forward, but his scoring in the first four months exceeded everyone&rsquo;s expectations. He had 63 points (20 goals) in 60 games.Down and out: Kevin Hatcher. After leading the Capitals in scoring and tying for the team lead in goals last season, he hasn&rsquo;t capitalized on his chances.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Al lafrate scored his 100th career goal Feb. 18 in a 4-2 win over San Jose. For the man who once called himself &ldquo;the human highlight film&rdquo; it was anything but spectacular. With the Sharks trailing by a goal and goalie Arturs Irbe pulled for an extra attacker, lafrate tried to clear the puck and it hit the boards, eventually finding the open net. &ldquo;As I get older,&rdquo; lafrate said, &ldquo;the story will change.&rdquo;&hellip;Goalie Jim Hrivnak started against the Sharks, his first appearance in a regular-season game since being relieved Oct. 23 in Edmonton.Goalie Mike Liut developed a back spasm during practice Feb. 16. Liut had been scratched for the previous three games, prompting the Capitals to recall Hrivnak from Baltimore of the American League&hellip;Center Dimitri Khristich was dropped to the fourth line for the San Jose game because coach Terry Murray said Khristich was trying to make too many well-intentioned individual moves.<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Michal Pivonka, Mike Ridley, Dale Hunter, Dimitri Khristich.LW&mdash;John Druce, Randy Burridge, Kelly Miller, Nick Kypreos.RW&mdash;Peter Bondra, Todd Krygier, Dino Ciccarelli, Alan May, Tim Bergland.LD&mdash;Calle Johansson, Rod Langway, Mike Lalor.RD&mdash;Kevin Hatcher, Al lafrate, Sylvain Cote.G&mdash;Don Beaupre, Jim Hrivnak.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Shawn Chambers. D, left knee swelling, indefinite; Mike Liut, G, back spasms, day-to-day. &#9632;

Forwards must produce

<div class="byline">By Rick Sadowski</div>If the absence of an explosive puck-rushing defenseman and a power-play quarterback was preventing the Los Angeles Kings from completing a Stanley Cup championship puzzle, they may have found the final and most important piece.That was acquired Feb. 19 from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the form of three-time Norris Trophy winner Paul Coffey, who cost the Kings defensemen Brian Benning and Jeff Chyalong with this first-round draft pick.The Penguins shipped Benning, right winger Mark Recchi and the draft pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for right winger Rick Tocchet, defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, goaltender Ken Wregget, an undisclosed draft pick and cash.It didn&rsquo;t seem like much of a price to pay for the 30-year-old Coffey, who scored on an end-to-end rush in the Kings&rsquo; 4-3 loss in Edmonton just hours after the deal was completed.He later complained of back pain and was flown to Los Angeles the next day as a precautionary measure.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t believe it&rsquo;s anything serious,&rdquo; said general manager Rogie Vachon, who wasn&rsquo;t about to fool with the health of a player the club is counting on so heavily in its quest to win a Cup.Once owner Bruce McNall decided it would be all right to add Coffey&rsquo;s Sl-million salary to the NHL&rsquo;s highest payroll (approximately $13.5 million), Vachon went after he league&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer among defense-men.&ldquo;We needed a defenseman like Coffey in order for us to be a contender,&rdquo; said Vachon, offensive defenseman, esne, was included in deal to nab Jari Kurri.&ldquo;All year we&rsquo;ve been looking at what was missing on the team. We needed a defenseman who can really activate, use his speed to open up the ice and give the power play a boost. Coffey gives us a dimension we didn&rsquo;t have.&rdquo;None of the Kings were complaining, no matter that the club is being teasingly dubbed as Edmonton Oilers South.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not fooling around,&rdquo; goal-tender Kelly Hrudey said.Coffey rejoined Wayne Gretzky, Kurri, Charlie Huddy and Marty McSorley, who combined to win 19 Stanley Cups in Alberta.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011217/6507063-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="941" height="2009"><figcaption class="caption-body">Right winger Jari Kurri is one of five ex-Oilers now playing in Los Angeles (Photo by Brian Winkler/BBS)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Bruce and Rogie have gone out and done whatever they can to bring a championship to California,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;(Coffey&rsquo;s arrival) allows us to make a run at it. But the bottom line is we have to win. If we don&rsquo;t win this year, or at least come close, you have to consider that Bruce has put a lot of money into this team. I&rsquo;m sure the whole situation would be reassessed in the off-season.&rdquo;That the Kings outbid the divisionleading Vancouver Canucks for Coffey was an added bonus.And don&rsquo;t waste your breath trying to convince the Kings they have foolishly mortgaged their future for a bunch of thirtysomething players.In order to get Gretzky, Coffey and Hrudey, the Kings have parted with four No. 1 draft picks and three players (Wayne McBean, Martin Gelinas and Jimmy Carson) they had taken in the first round. The Kings still owe the Oilers their 1993 first-rounder to complete the Gretzky trade of 1988.&ldquo;People are right about one thing, our future is now,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;By that I mean we are supposed to win now, this year. That&rsquo;s our goal. If it&rsquo;s not, what&rsquo;s the point of our being here?&ldquo;And I don&rsquo;t think the future is so bleak. Unless a first-round pick happens to be an Eric Lindros, teams are just tossing the dice.&rdquo;Vachon said there are other ways to acquire quality young players.&ldquo;Look at Peter Ahola,&rdquo; Vachon said of23-year-old defenseman. &ldquo;What did we give up for him? Nothing, except for money. He&rsquo;s going to be a good one.&rdquo;Ahola was signed last spring out of University as agent.&ldquo;Remember Gratton?&rdquo; Vachon asked of the two players he&rsquo;d probably like most to forget. &ldquo;They were big junior stars we drafted in the first round (in 1985). Where are they now?&rdquo;Coffey had a chat with his exPenguin teammates before leaving. Among the things he told them: &ldquo;See you in the finals.&rdquo;This is precisely what the Kings are hoping for. &#9632;

f0018-01

Going for Broke

<div class="byline">By Mike Beamish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02898/6507094-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="368" height="461"></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather see girls play real hockey than ringette&hellip;We&rsquo;re a little prehistoric in our attitudes about women.&rdquo;&mdash;ex-NHLer Dave (Tiger) Williams, Feb. 7,1992.Give the Tiger credit. He has come a long way, baby.Why, it seemslike only yesterday the Tiger was pouring a can of 7-Up over a reporter who entered the place where hockey players change their pants at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.What was bothering Williams that night? Probably nothing more than the presence of a female in an area the Tiger had staked out in his mind as an exclusively male sanctum.Ann Pollock remembers the date precisely&mdash;Oct. 6, 1982. She was the one who got the 7-Up shower. It was the first and last time Pollock ever went into the Canuck dressing room.Though it remains the primary place of business for most sportswriters and electronic reporters. Pollock previously had avoided the dressing room not because she was squeamish of large men in skimpy underwear-but because it had become an unreasonable place to conduct interviews. She preferred to do her work outside, rather than elbow her way through a scrum.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s funny, but I didn&rsquo;t really want to go in there in the first place,&rdquo; recalls Pollock, a former producer and sports reporter with CBC Radio in Vancouver. &ldquo;Norm Jewison (the Canucks&rsquo; P.R. director) practically had to take me by the hand.&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t take any courage to do what Tiger did. Afterward, he stood in the comer, half-hiding, halflooking over his shoulder, to see how I&rsquo;d react. I didn&rsquo;t say a word. I just smiled and said, &lsquo;Good night.&rsquo;&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t embarrassed for myself as much as I was embarrassed for the other players and Harry Neale (the Canucks&rsquo; general manager). I received a letter of apology from Harry and the Canucks offered to pay for my dry cleaning. I never pressed the issue and from then on I received tremendous cooperation from the team. But since that time I&rsquo;ve had a peculiar distaste for 7-Up.&rdquo;While Williams&rsquo; boorishness was totally in keeping with the character of the man, he, thankfully, is more the exception than the rule. Hockey&rsquo;s attitude toward women is one of the few areas the NHL is considered &ldquo;progressive&rdquo; compared to other professional leagues.Women fill hockey beat positions on several U.S. newspapers, head up the P.R. departments of high-profile teams in Montreal, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Boston and St. Louis and play a significant role in team administration in L.A. and Detroit.&ldquo;Hockey players have always been the best to deal with,&rdquo; says Sherry Ross, a New York-area reporter who has been covering the NHL since 1978-79. &ldquo;1 heard a few snide remarks when I first started out but nothing serious. Reporters who come over from other sports are stunned. They&rsquo;re floored by how open and accessible most hockey players are.&rdquo;This season, Ross, 37, became the NHL&rsquo;s first female color analyst when New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello hired her to work with play-by-play man Chris Moore on the Devils&rsquo; radio broadcasts. The standard practice has been to use &ldquo;color men&rdquo;, almost exclusively exjocks with negligible or no journalistic background.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m putting the broad back in broadcasting,&rdquo; quips Ross.&ldquo;Lou hired me because he said he respects my hockey knowledge and I&rsquo;m fairly articulate. But I&rsquo;m not kidding myself&mdash;the publicity factor is part of it.&rdquo;As Ross and followers of Canadian major junior hockey can attest, the game is not just men&rsquo;s work anymore. Manon Rheaume made history in November when she was called up from her Tier II team in Louiseville, Que., to play as a substitute goalie for Trois-Rivieres Draveurs of the Quebec League.Rheaume said she hoped &ldquo;one day maybe women can play with men in the NHL.&rdquo;The concept doesn&rsquo;t seem so farfetched as it was a dozen years ago, when Canadian sports minister Iona Campagnolo spoke to a conference on women&rsquo;s sport in Vancouver. She reached the high point of zeal with the declaration there&rsquo;d one day be &ldquo;a female Pope in Rome&rdquo; and &ldquo;defensepersons&rdquo; in the NHL.Campagnolo sounded like a politician playing for votes from the sisterhood, rather than someone dealing in reality.But perhaps she was a lot closer to the truth than she realized. We&rsquo;re all being forced to rearrange our prehistoric stereotypes about the roles of men and women.Even Tiger Williams has to cast off his animal skins and thrown away his cudgel. &#9632;

f0018-02

Hockey no longer just a man’s realm

<div class="byline">By Rick Sadowski</div>The Los Angeles Kings face several unanswered questions as they head towards their ultimate goal: a Stanley Cup championship.The Kings should make a bonafide run at the Cup this year provided newly acquired defenseman Paul Coffey&rsquo;s back is not seriously injured; defenseman Marty McSorley stays healthy upon returning from a shoulder injury; and feisty winger Tomas Sandstrom regains his form after missing significant time with a dislocated right shoulder.If those players remain injury free and the Kings peak at the right time following a mediocre season, they have enough skill and experience to make things interesting in the post-season.Assuming there is a post-season.The Kings were embroiled in a heated four-team race for three Smythe Division playoff berths (behind Vancouver) with 20 games to play.Pivotal factors: 1. Goalie Kelly Hrudey must continue his strong play despite a heavy workload. Hrudey will likely start every game down the stretch and his stamina will be severely tested. Steve Weeks was acquired from the New York Islanders in case Hrudey falters. 2. The return of Sandstrom, who has missed a big chunk of the season. His return will enable the Kings to move Tony Granato to center on the second line, which Luc Robitaille desperately needs. The Kings have missed Sandstrom&rsquo;s labrasiveness as much as his scoring. 3. A healthy defense. The Kings are in big trouble if injuries to Coffey (strained lower back) and McSorley prove to be more serious than anticipated, especially now that Brian Benning (Philadelphia) and Jeff Chychrun (Pittsburgh) are out of the picture.Hardware hopefuls: Wayne Gretzky, Lady Byng.Needs: A center who can pass to Robitaille on the second line.Available: Jay Miller.Trade talk: The Kings will make a last-ditch pitch for Eric Lindros. The problem is they&rsquo;ve pretty much run out of players and draft picks to trade.Above and beyond: Speedy left winger Mike Donnelly has surpassed all expectations, scoring more goals (24 in 62 games) than he had in 149 previous career games.Down and out: Right winger Jari Kurri is having the worst season of his career (45 points in 55 games) and will need a big playoff to justify his acquisition and big salary.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Bob Kudelski scored two goals Feb. 21 in the Kings&rsquo; 9-7 loss to the Calgary Flames, breaking a lengthy scoring slump. Kudelski had no goals and one assist in the previous 13 games. He had two goals and four assists in the previous 24 games.Right winger Jari Kurri isn&rsquo;t exactly filling nets with pucks. He had nine assists but no goals on 25 shots in his previous 10 games, the longest he had gone without a goal this season. Kurri went eight games without a goal earlier in the year.<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 18: Steve Weeks, G. acquired from New York Islanders for a seventh-round pick in the 1992 draft. Feb, 19: Brian Benning, D, Jeff Chychrun, D. and a first-round pick in the 1992 draft traded to Pittsburgh for Paul Coffey. D. Feb. 22: Darryl Gilmour. G. assigned to Phoenix (IHL). Darryl Williams. LW. recalled from Phoenix.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Wayne Gretzky. Scott Bjugstad, Corey Millen, John McIntyre.LW&mdash;Tony Granato. Luc Robitaille. Mike Donnelly, Darryl Williams. Jim Thomson, Jay Miller.RW&mdash;Jari Kurri, Bob Kudelski, Kyosti Karjalainen, Dave Taylor.LD&mdash;Peter Ahola, Larry Robinson, Tim Watters.RD&mdash;Rob Blake, Charlie Huddy. Brent Thompson.G&mdash;Kelly Hrudey, Steve Weeks.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Paul Coffey, D, strained lower back, day-to-day. Marty McSorley, D. sprained right shoulder, dayto-day Tomas Sandstrom. RW. partially dislocated right shoulder, day-to-day. &#9632;

Veterans must stay healthy

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>The Winnipeg Jets always seem to be somewhere they don&rsquo;t belong. Last season, people shook their heads in disbelief as the Jets slipped out of the Smythe Division playoffs under coach Bob Murdoch.This season, few had picked Winnipeg to be playoff-bound with new head coach John Paddock. But after 62 games and two straight months occupying second place, the Jets were in the midst of the furious battle behind the Vancouver Canucks. They still may not make the playoffs but that is exactly where the Jets expect to be on April 5.Pivotal factors: 1. Goalie Bob Essensa. He is the one player who could single-handedly get the Jets into the post-season. Essensa is still battling the odd bout of inconsistency, but if he&rsquo;s able to maintain his level through to April, the Jets should still be playing. Essensa led the league with five shutouts. 2. Whether or not the Jets will choke under the pressure of a playoff battle. 3. Special teams play. With an obvious lack of five-on-five punch all season, the Jets absolutely need to maintain their excellent play in that area.Hardware hopefuls: Phil Housley, Norris; Essensa, Vezina; Paddock, Adams.Needs: The Jets are in obvious need of scoring and help at forward but aren&rsquo;t likely to make deals in this area because it&rsquo;s where their best prospects-Teemu Selanne of Finland, Alexei Zhamnov and Evgeny Davydov of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Keith Tkachuk of the United States-should fit in soon.Available: Stephane Beauregard, Rick Tabaracci, Jason Cirone or Dan Ratushny.Trade talk: Cirone and/or Ratushny plus a high draft pick to Quebec for defenseman Steven Finn.Above and beyond: Checking center Mike Eagles has been one Jet singled out for performance above and beyond the call of duty.Down and out: Defenseman Fredrik Olausson has again been disappointing. Olausson has been brilliant at times but his long, ineffective lapses have been hard to hide.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Ed Olczyk returned earlier than expected from a dislocated elbow suffered Jan. 8 and had goals in his first two games back, Feb. 19 (4-3 loss to St. Louis) and Feb. 21 (6-4 win over New Jersey). Despite missing 15 games with the injury, Olczyk still led the club with 23 goals and 189 shots on goal through Feb. 23.Pat Elynuik, who has had an inconsistent season, had eight points in the first five games he played since returning from a knee injury in early February.General manager Mike Smith said speculation about a mega-contract for goalie Bob Essensa is premature. Essensa&rsquo;s option year would be next season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the least bit concerned about that,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m more concerned about Bob Essensa&rsquo;s ability to handle the notoriety and success. He has been successful and he falls back consistently.&rdquo;<h2>WINNIPEG</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 22: Rick Tabaracci, G. recalled from Moncton (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Thomas Steen, Troy Murray. Luciano Borsato, Rob Murray. Aaron Broten.LW&mdash;Darrin Shannon, Doug Evans, Phil Sykes. Mark Osborne, John LeBlanc.RW&mdash;Ed Olczyk, Pat Elynuik. Paul MacDermid, Mike Hartman.LD&mdash;Teppo Numminen, Shawn Cronin. Randy Carlyle, Igor Ulanov.RD&mdash;Phil Housley, Fredrik Olausson, Mario Marois.G&mdash;Bob Essensa. Stephane Beauregard, Rick Tabaracci.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Danton Cole, RW, strained left knee ligament, day-to-day. Mike Eagles. C. broken left thumb, April 1. Bryan Erickson, RW, abdominal surgery, March 25. Dean Kennedy, D. left knee surgery, out for season. &#9632;

League’s shutout king integral to playoff bid

<div class="byline">By Mike Weaver</div>With fewer than 20 games left in their inaugural NHL season, the expansion San Jose Sharks had only modest goals to pursue.By earning 13 victories and four ties in their first 60 games, the Sharks had more points in three-quarters of the season than some insiders expected them to have at the finish.There is no playoff berth in their immediate future but the Sharks were close enough to the Quebec Nordiques in the overall standings to set a goal of not finishing with the league&rsquo;s worst record.Pivotal factors: 1. Road play. The Sharks were 2-27-2 in their first 31 road games. 2. Team defense. The Sharks must cut down on their goals-against and do a better job of protecting leads. They allowed 43 goals (6.14 per game) and blew four leads during a seven-game losing streak through Feb. 25. 3. The youthful defense corps. With veterans Doug Wilson and Ken Hammond sidelined with injuries until late March, the youthful rearguards must pick up the slack.Hardware hopefuls: None.Needs: The Sharks have several holes to fill and could find a place for a solid player at any position.Available: Bob McGill.Trade talk: The rumor mill has been quiet.Above and beyond: Pat Falloon&rsquo;s contributions have far exceeded what management expected. The Sharks didn&rsquo;t even expect him to make the team. But he played himself on the roster and has a great chance to finish the season as the team&rsquo;s leading scorer.Down and out: When the Sharks obtained goalie Brian Hayward from the Minnesota North Stars in last May&rsquo;s dispersal draft, they expected him to provide leadership and consistency in goal. But back problems have hampered Hayward all season. He played just seven games and is out for the season with a herniated disc in his back.NOTEBOOK: The Sharks plan to raise ticket prices at the Cow Palace next season because of increased operating costs. The increases will be &ldquo;a couple of bucks&rdquo; per seat, chief executive officer Art Savage said. Prices this season at the 10,888-seat auditorium range between $12 and $55. Seating at the Cow Palace will expand to 11,200 next season. A new stadium is being built in downtown San Jose and the team is scheduled to move there for the 1993-94 season.The Sharks lost defenseman and captain Doug Wilson until at least March 24. Wilson suffered a tom posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the Feb. 23 game (a 4-2 loss) against Calgary at the Cow Palace. The untimely injury occurred when Wilson&rsquo;s skate blade caught a rut in the ice when he was trying to return to the bench for a line change during the game.Left winger Paul Fenton suffered a 40-stitch gash to his forehead in the game against Calgary. Fenton hit his head on the boards after being hit from behind by Calgary&rsquo;s Michel Petit. Petit was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct.<h2>SAN JOSE</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 20: Arturs Irbe, G, assigned to Kansas City (IHL). J.F. Quintin, LW, and Dale Craigwell, C, recalled from Kansas City.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mike Sullivan, Dale Craigwell. Dean Evason, Steve Bozek.LW&mdash;David Bruce, J.F. Quintin, Paul Fenton, Petry Anderson, Brian Lawton.RW&mdash;Brian Mullen. Pat Falloon, Wayne Presley, Perry Berezan, Jeff Odgers.RD&mdash;Link Gaetz, David Williams, Jayson MoreLD&mdash;Rob Zettler. Bob McGill.G&mdash;Jeff Hackett, Jarmo Myllys.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Ken Hammond. D. broken right hand, indefinite. Brian Hayward, G, herniated disk In back, out for season Kelly Kisio, C. hyper-extended right knee, day-to-day. Neil Wilkinson. D, strained back, dayto-day. Doug Wilson, D, tom ligament in right knee, March. 24. &#9632;

Catching Nordiques still a distinct possibility

<div class="byline">By George Johnson</div>March madness, did you say?For anyone in search of insanity, Calgary&rsquo;s unquestionably the place to be. The hockey-mad populace is madder than hell and on the verge of being driven into the depths of madness.The Flames, out of the playoffs? Unfortunately for Flames&rsquo; fans, the unthinkable is becoming a chillingly real possibility.Pivotal factors: 1. Offensive output from the marquee men. Outside of left winger Gary Roberts and defenseman Gary Suter, Calgary&rsquo;s big guns haven&rsquo;t produced. 2. The play of Mike Vernon. Vemon, wonderful in net for so long, had slipped since Christmas and must return to his first-half form. 3. Gary Leeman&rsquo;s offensive production. It must increase or the Flames are going to look silly trading him for Doug Gilmour.Hardware hopefuls: None.Needs: The smallish Flames desperately need size and toughness, particularly on defense.Available: There are no untouchables.Trade talk: Center Joel Otto has been rumored to be on his way to a Patrick Division team most of the season.Above and beyond: Not so much an overachievement, Roberts&rsquo; drive to 40 goals and beyond is more a re-affirmation of his potential.Down and out: Theoren Fleury has been the most disappointing this season. Last year&rsquo;s 50-goal-scorer had just 27 goals in 61 games.NOTEBOOK: After 13 games of frustration, Theoren Fleury finally scored a goal in a 9-7 win over Los Angeles Feb. 21. Fleury was shifted back to right wing from center and rediscovered the old zip playing alongside Carey Wilson and left winger Paul Ranheim.<h2>CALGARY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 14: Paul Kruse. LW, recalled from Salt Lake (IHL). Feb. 18: Nevin Markwart, LW, claimed on waivers from Boston. Tomas Forslund, LW. and Alexander Godynyuk, D, assigned to Salt Lake.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Joe Nieuwendyk, Carey Wilson, Joel Otto, Robert Reichel.LW&mdash;Gary Roberts, Paul Ranheim, Marc Habscheid, Paul Kruse.RW&mdash;Sergei Makarov, Theo Fleury, Ron Stem, Craig Berube, Martin Simard.LD&mdash;Gary Suter, Frank MusH, Trent Yawney.RD&mdash;AI Maclnnis, Michel Petit, Mark Osiecki, Neil Sheehy.G&mdash;Mike Vemon, Jeff Reese.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tim Hunter, RW. dislocated fracture, left ankle. Indefinite. Jim Kyte. D, dislocated fracture, right ankle, indefinite Gary Leeman, RW. twisted ankle, day-to-day. Nevin Markwart, LW. twisted knee, day-to-day. &#9632;

Struggle for survival has everyone downright mad

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnas</div>The Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; stretch drive through March won&rsquo;t be of the leisurely Sunday afternoon variety.It&rsquo;ll be more like an ambulance ride in rush-hour traffic as they jostle with Los Angeles, Calgary and Winnipeg for one of the three playoff spots behind Vancouver. But the Oilers, who were showing signs of consistency entering the season&rsquo;s final quarter, at least had the schedule on their side. They play 12 of their final 19 games at home, where they&rsquo;ve had success this year.Pivotal factors: 1. Bill Ranford. The Oilers need him at the peak of his game, a level he hasn&rsquo;t reached consistently this season due to hamstring and groin injuries. 2. Offensive output. Every game in March might as well be a playoff game so the Oilers need their proven playoff performers to shine. Craig Simpson and Bemie Nicholls score more than a point per game in the playoffs and must find that level in March. 3. Injuries. The Oilers have been able to play through injuries to key players such as Ranford, Esa Tikkanen, Kevin Lowe and Craig Muni. If they are to make a move in March, they need Lowe and Muni on defense, Ranford in perfect health and will have to make do without Tikkanen, who isn&rsquo;t expected back until the playoffs.Hardware hopefuls: None.Needs: A big offensive defenseman and a second-line center.Available: Petr Klima, Nicholls, Chris Joseph and Greg Hawgood.Trade talk: The Nordiques have offered defenseman Bryan Fogarty but want left winger Martin Gelinas and the Oilers aren&rsquo;t interested. The Whalers and Oilers have discussed a deal for Pat Verbeek and the names of Klima, Nicholls and Simpson have all surfaced at various times.Above and beyond: Kelly Buchberger, the Oilers&rsquo; most improved player, is enjoying a career year, literally. He had 16 goals and 33 points in 60 games. In 204 games before this year he had just 11 goals and 27 points. Buchberger has become a first-unit penalty killer, is on the ice in the final minute with the game up for grabs and did an excellent job shad owing Wayne Gretzky in the absence of Tikkanen.Down and out: Even before the groin injury that took him out of six games in February, Klima&rsquo;s point production was far below expectations. He had just 17 goals and 29 points in 46 games. At times this year he was the worst Oiler on the ice and only rarely did he show the blazing speed and goal-scoring touch that the Oilers know he possesses.NOTEBOOK: Esa Tikkanen has been unseated as the Oilers&rsquo; designated &ldquo;pest&rdquo;. That job now belongs to Kelly Buchberger, who is showing he can successfiilly bother the best players in the league. &ldquo;He plays a little bit like (Esa) does,&rdquo; coach Ted Green said. &ldquo;He is doing a good job of getting in the way.&rdquo;<h2>EDMONTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Fab. 20: Chris Joseph, D, assigned to Cape Breton (AHL). Feb. 22: Max Middendorf. RW. traded to Detroit for BUI McDougall, C. McDougall assigned to Cape Breton. Louie DeBrusk, LW assigned to Cape Breton.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Anatoll Semenov, Bemie Nicholls, Craig MacTavish, Josef Beranek, Mark Lamb.LW&mdash;Cralg Simpson, Vince Damp-housse, Martin Gelinas, David Maley, Esa Tikkanen.RW&mdash;Scott Mellanby, Joe Murphy, Petr Klima, Kelly Buchberger.LD&mdash;Luke Richardson, Kevin Lowe, Dave Manson, Geoff Smith.RD&mdash;Greg Hawgood, Craig Muni, Norm Madver, Brian Glynn.G&mdash;BIII Ranford, Norm Foster.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Kevin Lowe, D, strained rotator cuff in right shoulder, indefinite. Craig Muni. D. pinched nerve in left shoulder, indefinite. Esa Tikkanen, LW, left shoulder surgery, Indefinite. &#9632;

Ranford, Nicholls, Simpson must lead the charge

<div class="byline">By Matt Carlson</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01906/6507276-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brown senior defenseman Michael Brewer may not win three Stanley Cups like his father Carl (inset), but he may win the Hobey. (Photo by Joe Giblin)</figcaption></div>Coming from a former Calder and Norris Trophy winner, it is high praise indeed. Of course, you have to consider the source. You&rsquo;ll have to excuse Jacques Laperriere if he&rsquo;s a little overzelous in his praise of St. Lawrence University&rsquo;s best defenseman.There is a good bloodline on the Saints&rsquo; blue line. Daniel Laperriere, 22, is the son of the former Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; standout.&ldquo;The game has changed a lot since my day,&rdquo; says Jacques, now the Canadiens&rsquo; assistant coach. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot faster and higher scoring. He&rsquo;s much more for offense than I was and, frankly, he&rsquo;s better. They always told me I was a bad skater but Daniel is very good.&rdquo;The Laperriere family isn&rsquo;t the only one making an impact in the Eastern College Athletic Association these days. Brown University&rsquo;s Michael Brewer, 22, is the son of Carl, a rough-and-tumble defenseman who won three Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960s.Both seniors, Laperriere and Brewer have been drafted by NHL teams and are legitimate candidates for the Hobey Baker Award, emblematic of college hockey&rsquo;s most valuable player.Laperriere was St. Louis&rsquo; fourth round pick (93rd overall) in the 1989 entry draft while Brewer was selected by the Washington Capitals 20th overall in the 1991 supplemental draft.In some ways Laperriere and Brewer are chips off the old block. They possess excellent leadership skills and a determined will to succeed on and off the ice.Unlike their famous fathers, however, Laperriere and Brewer have been refined on U.S. college rinks, not in Canadian major junior leagues. And while the fathers made their NHL impact as stay-at-home stalwarts, their kids are offensive forces.St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh says Laperriere&rsquo;s skills and attitude are among the best in college hockey.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the classiest players I&rsquo;ve ever had,&rdquo; Marsh says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a super offensive defenseman and a graceful, smooth skater.&rdquo;Laperriere had four goals and 32 points after 18 games, tied for third in ECAC scoring. And while he may never attain his dad&rsquo;s achievements, the 6-foot-l, 190-pound Montreal native is determined to succeed if given an NHL opportunity.It didn&rsquo;t hurt Laperriere to have a father who was a fixture with the Habs. He was treated to the ambiance and tradition of the Montreal Forum as a youngster and remembers attending games and practices at the hallowed arena. Jacques was on five Stanley Cups with Montreal in his 12 seasons there.&ldquo;I came with my dad all the time when he was home,&rdquo; Laperriere says. &ldquo;I used to go down in the locker room, know the players and skate after practice. But he never forced me to play. He just told me to go out and enjoy myself.&ldquo;We provided him with all the tools,&rdquo; Jacques says. &ldquo;When I wasn&rsquo;t there, my wife would give him a lift to practice. I remember I would play with him to have fun, get him to skate and get him tired so he would sleep better at night.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02622/6507269-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="461" height="643"></div>Daniel respects the fact his father didn&rsquo;t pressure him into playing hockey.&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t tell me about mistakes with the puck or a pass,&rdquo; Laperriere says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just little tips about my play away from the puck.&rdquo;While Jacques Laperriere is pleased his son chose U.S. college hockey over major junior, former Toronto Maple Leaf Carl Brewer is even more opinionated about the Ivy League route his son chose.&ldquo;Major junior hockey is totally unidimensional,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;And Michael isn&rsquo;t unidimensional. I knew he had all the ability in the world when he was seven. He just knew how to play hockey. But Michael has other abilities.&rdquo;As with Laperriere, Carl-a Leaf from 1957 to 1969 before brief stints with Detroit, St. Louis and the World Hockey Association-never thrust hockey upon his son. School always took top priority.Michael attended private school at St. Andrew&rsquo;s College in Aurora, Ont., just north of Toronto before coming to Brown in 1988-89. His on-ice skills have helped the rebuilding Bears remain competitive this year.Brewer led the Bears in scoring with nine goals and 29 points after 18 games, good for fourth place in ECAC scoring.&ldquo;For us, he&rsquo;s a Ray Bourque type,&rdquo; says Brown coach Bob Gaudet. &ldquo;When I got the head coaching job here, Mike was the first guy I thought of. He had been an excellent student and, although it was late for admission when I got the job, I was able to get him in.&rdquo;Brown&rsquo;s academic reputation was a big drawing card for Brewer. Several universities pursued him, but he turned them down for the Ivy League.&ldquo;As soon as the recruiting started, I figured I wanted to get the best education possible,&rdquo; the history major says. &ldquo;I looked to the Ivy League first.&rdquo;As in Laperriere&rsquo;s case, Brewer&rsquo;s on-ice progression wasn&rsquo;t dictated by his dad. &ldquo;Michael has a mind of his own,&rdquo; Carl says. &ldquo;I figured if he wanted my advice, he&rsquo;d ask. We&rsquo;re friends. I follow his school and life very closely and hockey is just one aspect of that.&rdquo;Hockey could become a bigger aspect for both sensational sons in the near future. Although size could work to Brewer&rsquo;s disadvantage (5-foot-10, 175 pounds), the Capitals are watching him closely. &ldquo;No matter what league I&rsquo;ve played in, people weren&rsquo;t sure I could play because of my size,&rdquo; Brewer says. &ldquo;But every level I&rsquo;ve gone to, I&rsquo;ve done well.&rdquo;The Blues are keeping close tabs on Laperriere. General manager Ron Caron&mdash;a close friend of the family&mdash;has ventured to Canton. N.Y., to see Dan play a couple of times this season. And according to St. Louis director of player development Bob Plager, more Blues&rsquo; scouts will visit soon.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a few kids like him, whose dad&rsquo;s played the game,&rdquo; said Plager, noting his nephew Kevin (Barclay&rsquo;s son) and Michigan center David Roberts (his father, Doug, skated for three NHL teams), are both Blues&rsquo; draftees. &ldquo;I think Ron (Caron) likes to draft them. There may be something in the blood or something that may rub off.&rdquo;Given the success enjoyed by Daniel Laperriere and Mike Brewer, Caron may have a point. &#9632;

f0022-01

THE SONS ALSO RISE

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggle</div>Cornell sophomore goalie Parris Duffus has a new nickname and it looks like this one will stick. The name is Glue.The 22-year-old Littleton, Colo., jiative has been instrumental in helping the Big Red gain respectability in the Eastern Colleges Athletic Conference this year.Duffus, who played in all but 23 minutes of Cornell&rsquo;s first 22 games, hadn&rsquo;t allowed over five goals in a game. He was second in the ECAC with a 2.58 goals-against average through Feb. 15.Duffus&rsquo; goaltending, and a strong team defense, have helped coach Brian McCutcheon deal with a number of key losses this year.Cornell was hit hard by graduation, losing defenseman Dan Ratushny and left winger Kent Manderville to the Canadian Olympic team. The Big Red also lost left winger Trent Andison and goalie Corrie D&rsquo;Alessio.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not an explosive group and for us to be successful, we have to keep our goals-against down,&rdquo; McCutcheon said. &ldquo;Parris has been particularly instrumental in that.&rdquo;Sophomore Todd Chambers, 21, has been another bright spot for the fifth-place Big Red.The 5-foot-8, 165-pound defenseman didn&rsquo;t play much last year, but has emerged as a solid leader on the blue line. He also quarterbacks the Big Red power play.&ldquo;Todd Chambers has done a lot of things for us this year and to his credit, he has done them well, even though he was thrown into the fire, so to speak,&rdquo; McCutcheon said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so smart with the puck.&rdquo;Chambers had two goals and 13 points in 18 games to lead Cornell defensemen in scoring.Many ECAC coaches can&rsquo;t figure McCutcheon wins with the team he Big Red coach has a simple answer.&ldquo;Strong defense,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And (Duffus) that keeps us together.&rdquo;TOP SECRET?: Derek Chauvette used to be one of the best kept secrets in the ECAC.But following back-to-back seven-point weekends in early February, the Brown junior center is suddenly in the limelight.Chauvette, 21, had 34 points (10 goals) in 18 games, to move past St. Lawrence center Mike Lappin (33 points), Yale&rsquo;s Mark Kaufmann (32 points) and Colgate&rsquo;s Dale Band (32 points) into the ECAC scoring lead.The Bears haven&rsquo;t had a league scoring champion since Bill Gilligan won the title in 1976.Chauvette played for the powerhouse Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island before joining Brown in 1989-90.He was the Bears&rsquo; fifth leading scorer as a freshman with 25 points (seven goals) and improved to 27 points-including a team-high 21 assists-as a sophomore.VAILLANT EFFORT: Rensselaer Polytechnic Instituje senior right winger Dan Vaillant picked the perfect time to score his first goal of the season.The Thunder Bay, Ont., native-who moved to right wing this season after spending three years on the blue line-scored at 3:19 of overtime to give the Engineers a 4-3 win over ninthranked St. Lawrence Feb. 15.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure the elite players have time to think about what they&rsquo;re going to do, but I just wanted to make sure I got the shot off,&rdquo; said Vaillant, who had just four assists in RPl&rsquo;s first 25 games.Vaillant&rsquo;s goal ended St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh&rsquo;s winning streak in Troy. Marsh had a perfect 8-0-0 record at RPl&rsquo;s Houston Field House entering the game. &#9632;

Duffus holds it all together

<div class="byline">By Matt Carlson</div>Dwayne Norris is probably best known in Canada as the player who scored the goal that won the 1990 World Junior Championship for Team Canada.But in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, the Michigan State senior right winger is known as one of the most intense, competitive players in the league.The 5-foot-10, 178-pound playmaker has averaged a goal-per-game this season, helping the Spartans challenge for first-place heading into the stretch run.Norris, a native of St. John&rsquo;s Nfld., had 57 points in 30 games to rank second in the league behind Michigan senior left winger Denny Felsner.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s having a great year,&rdquo; Spartans&rsquo; head coach Ron Mason said. &ldquo;He is consistent every night. His main strengths are his work habits and speed.&rdquo;Norris was chosen by the Quebec Nordiques in the fifth round (127th overall) of the 1990 entry draft. The 22-year-old construction management major-who claims he&rsquo;s the first Newfoundland native to receive a full hockey scholarship at a U.S. school-helped rally the team together in the pre-season.&ldquo;After last season when we finished fifth, the senior players had to go out and set a new standard,&rdquo; Norris said. &ldquo;We had to be a team right from the beginning and try to win every game with hard work and dedication.&rdquo;Norris has kept up his end of the bargain, becoming one of the league&rsquo;s most dangerous players.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve pretty much played the game the same way my whole life,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Because of my small frame, I had to learn to be quick. With me, it was almost like playing dodge-ball.&rdquo;One of Norris&rsquo; biggest fans has been around all year to watch him. His father Carl, who teaches calculus at Memorial University in Newfoundland, is working on his doctorate at Michigan State.NUMBERS UP: League attendance increased an average of 207 fans per game in 1991-92, up six per cent over last year. The average attendance at CCHA games this season is 3,397.But while attendance has increased, so has the length of the games. The average elapsed time of a CCHA game this year is two hours, 22 minutes. Last year, it was two hours, 17 minutes.NOTEBOOK: Lake Superior State senior right winger Sandy Moger was named CCHA player of the week for the period ending Feb. 17. Moger scored four goals in a sweep of Ferris State (8-2 Feb. 14 and 5-1 Feb. 15). He had 18 goals and 40 points in 26 games&hellip;With three goals and seven points in a sweep of Miami (8-4 Feb. 14, 10-5 Feb. 15), Michigan&rsquo;s Denny Felsner took over the CCHA scoring lead with 24 goals and 51 points. Felsner is within range of becoming Michigan&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer. The St. Louis Blues&rsquo; prospect had 236 points through Feb. 17. Dave Debol (1975-78) is the leader with 246 points.Michigan State left winger Peter White has regained his scoring touch. White, 22, was one of the Spartans&rsquo; biggest enigmas last season. He scored 53 and 62 points in his first two seasons but slumped to seven goals and 38 points in 37 games last year. He has rebounded with 18 goals and 52 points in 30 games this year to rank second to Norris in team scoring. &#9632;

Spartans’ island son leads first-place charge

One of college hockey&rsquo;s longest legacies will come to an end after this season.Boston College coach Len Ceglarski, the winningest coach in college hockey history, coached his final regular-season game March 1 against Northeastern after 34 seasons behind the bench.Ceglarski, 65, compiled a 669-325-38 record (through Feb. 15) with Clarkson (1958-72) and BC (1973-92).The Walpole, Mass., native-who nurtured current NHLers Brian Leetch and Craig Jan- ney-wouldn&rsquo;t reveal his future plans.&ldquo;There are a couple of things I&rsquo;m considering. One involves hockey, one doesn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; he said.Ceglarski was a forward on the Eagles&rsquo; last NCAA championship team in 1949. He was also a member of the silver-medal-winning 1952 U.S. Olympic team. But he made his biggest contribution behind the bench.&ldquo;My greatest memories are the players I&rsquo;ve coached and people I&rsquo;ve worked with,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can remember my first team at Clarkson and all the players just as I can my first team at Boston College.&rdquo; &#9632;

Majestic Eagle rests wings

<div class="byline">By Andy Baggot</div>Wisconsin senior goalie Duane Derksen has been voted the Western Collegiate Hockey Association&rsquo;s top player this season in an unofficial poll of league coaches.Derksen, 23, was selected the best player by four of the WCHA&rsquo;s nine coaches. North Dakota junior center Greg Johnson received three votes, while Minnesota senior center Larry Olimb and Northern Michigan senior center-left winger Dallas Drake received one each. Coaches were not allowed to pick their own players.Derksen, 23, is rated second among WCHA goalies this season-Minnesota&rsquo;s Jeff Stolp had a better goals-against average&mdash;with a 3.23 GAA and .894 save percentage in 27 games.The St. Boniface, Man., native&mdash;who was named to the WCHA second all-star team last season&mdash;is the Badgers&rsquo; all-time leader in victories, saves and games played.And while the Badgers likely won&rsquo;t finish first this season&mdash;they were 10 points behind the Minnesota Golden Gophers through Feb. 17-Derksen&rsquo;s steadying influence has been invaluable.&ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t been spectacular against us, but I really like the way he handles himself,&rdquo; Minnesota coach Doug Woog said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not a flamboyant guy. I just think he&rsquo;s liable to wear pretty good on any team.&rdquo;While Derksen has shone in the Badger net, Johnson was the top choice among forwards. The silky smooth playmaker-a finalist for the 1991 Hobey Baker Award-had 18 goals and 66 points in 32 games, second in the league behind Northern Michigan junior forward Jim Hiller&ldquo;No question he&rsquo;s the best in the league,&rdquo; Minnesota-Duluth coach Mike Sertich said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a complete player and provides real leadership.&rdquo;&ldquo;You place him on any team and he makes everyone better. You just can&rsquo;t shut him down,&rdquo; Michigan Tech coach Newell Brown said.Olimb, 22, has played center and defense with equal proficiency, while Drake, 23, has emerged from a talented group of teammates to forge his own identity.SCORING SENSATION: North Dakota senior left winger Dixon Ward has joined some exclusive company.Ward, 23, is one of only two players from current WCHA schools to have scored 30 or more goals in three straight seasons.Mark Johnson, a former two-time all-America with Wisconsin, scored 36, 48 and 41 goals from 1976-79. Ward had 32 goals in 32 games this season to go along with 34 as a junior and 35 as a sophomore.DANDY DARBY: Post-season award ballots won&rsquo;t be submitted until March 9, but judging from reaction around the league, Minnesota&rsquo;s Darby Hendrickson is a shoo-in for the WCHA rookie of the year award.The 19-year-old forward had 19 goals and 43 points in 32 games to rank as the league&rsquo;s topscoring freshman.The Richfield, Minn., native was Toronto&rsquo;s third choice, 73rd overall, in the 1990 entry draft.&ldquo;He should be in Toronto,&rdquo; North Dakota coach Gino Gasparini said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a freshman who plays like a senior.&rdquo; &#9632;

Steady Derksen gets top marks from coaches

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div>There are times in a coach&rsquo;s life when a sense of humor can be a most valuable ally.Northeastern coach Ben Smith finds himself in such a position this season, as his hapless Huskies struggle to stay in front of Merrimack in the &ldquo;battle&rdquo; for last place in Hockey East.The Huskies won just four of their first 17 games, allowing a league-high 91 goals while scoring just 58 times. They also suffered one of their worst defeats in school history Feb. 14, an 11-2 drubbing to New Hampshire. It was the Huskies&rsquo; worst loss since a 14-4 loss to New Hampshire in 1969-70.Smith switched goalies five times in the game. He started freshman Todd Reynolds and wound up rotating Reynolds with senior Tom Cole and seldom-used junior Chris Utano.&ldquo;New Hampshire was 7-for-21 from the floor at one point,&rdquo; joked Smith after the Wildcats scored seven goals on their first 21 shots. &ldquo;We had only three dressed, but I would have used our fourth (Elijah Gold) if he had been dressed.&rdquo;While bad goaltending has been a big problem for the Huskies this year, the loss of defensemen Will Averill and Rob Cowie has severely weakened the blue line.The Huskies&rsquo; offense has also been inconsistent. Junior left winger Sebastien Laplante led the team with seven goals and 17 points in 17 games.CENTURY CLUB: Maine junior left winger Jean-Yves Roy reached the 100-career goal plateau in a 6-2 win over Lowell Feb. 8.Roy is the second player in Black Bear history to score 100 goals. The Rosemere, Que., native had 103 goals in 116 career games and needed five more to break Gary Conn&rsquo;s career mark of 107.&ldquo;I never really thought about it. It just happened,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;If I break Conn&rsquo;s record, I&rsquo;ll be happy.&rdquo;MIDAS TOUCH: Boston University defenseman Rich Brennan scored one goal in his first 22 games. But the 20-year-old freshman scored two game-winners in two consecutive wins, 5-2 Feb. 10 in the Beanpot Tournament championship game and 5-4 Feb. 15 over Northeastern. Brennan was Quebec&rsquo;s third-round pick in 1991&hellip;Lowell&rsquo;s 2-2 tie with Boston University Feb. 14 snapped the Chiefs&rsquo; 16-game losing streak against the Terriers. Lowell had not beaten BU since Nov. 22, 1986.New Hampshire senior left winger Dom Amodeo is one of the hottest scorers in Hockey East. He had a 13-game point-scoring streak through Feb. 20 with 11 goals and 28 points&hellip;Providence junior goalie Brad Mullahy was named Hockey East player of the week for the period ending Feb. 17. Mullahy, 22, led the Friars to a pair of wins over Merrimack (5-3 Feb. 14) and New Hampshire (3-2 Feb. 15). He had a .933 save percentage in the victories. &#9632;

Smith remains positive despite Huskies’ disaster

The Regina Cougars can finally scratch their seven-year itch.The Cougars captured their first Canada West Universities Athletic Association title Feb. 14 with a 5-4 win over the Lethbridge Pronghorns.The Cougars finished with 41 points in 26 games, six points ahead of second-place Alberta.It took the Cougars seven years to win the CWUAA title. They joined the league in 1985-86 after competing in the Great Plains Athletic Conference from 1976-77 to 1984-85.By finishing first, the Cougars lived up to their pre-season billing as the CWUAA&rsquo;s best team.Fourth-year coach Bill Liskowich had a solid nucleus of veterans and Western League graduates to work with this year and they met high expectations.Five Cougars&mdash;Len Nielsen, Troy Edwards, Darrin McKechnie, Gary Dickie and Rob Harvey&mdash;finished among the CWUAA&rsquo;s top 10 scorers.AUAA: Mother Nature likely cost Shane MacEachern a shot at the Atlantic Universities Athletic Association scoring title.The Prince Edward Island Panthers&rsquo; second-year right winger was contending for the AUAA scoring race when a record Maritime snowfall of 161 centimeters-about five feet, eight inches-crippled the region Feb. 1 and 2.Four AUAA games were postponed, including two involving the Panthers.AUAA executive directors met Feb. 11 to decide if the games would be replayed. The directors decided the games would have no impact on the playoffs so they were cancelled.The board&rsquo;s decision allowed St. Mary&rsquo;s Huskies&rsquo; sophomore center Craig Teeple to capture the scoring title.Teeple finished with 13 goals and 60 points in 26 games, while MacEachern had 18 goals and 59 points in 23 games.OUAA: The Western Mustangs aren&rsquo;t the flashiest team in the Ontario Univerisities Athletic Association, but they&rsquo;re certainly among the most consistent.The Mustangs captured the OUAA West Division title Feb. 15 with a 12-1 win over Royal Military College Redmen.Western finished with 33 points in 22 games, one point ahead of the Waterloo Warriors.The Mustangs completed the first half of the season with a solid 7-3-1 record. They followed up with a 9-2-0 run after the Christmas break.Western had a winning record against nationally ranked teams (5-3-0) and won three of its last four games against division rivals.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t close my eyes and put one guy out there who&rsquo;s going to win the game,&rdquo; Mustangs&rsquo; coach Reg Higgs said. &ldquo;Our strength is our depth and everybody has pretty much bought into the program. I have faith everybody will do their job.&rdquo;&mdash;With files from Robin Brownlee, Bruce Hallihan and Claude Scilley. &#9632;

Cougars conquer wild West

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>The names Al Arbour, Dick Gamble, Bronco Horvath, Les Duff and Gerry Cheevers are legendary in the 36-year history of the Rochester Americans.Add Jody Gage to the list.Gage tied Gamble&rsquo;s franchise scoring record Feb. 19 with an assist in a 3-1 win over Binghamton.In seven seasons in Rochester, the 13-year American League veteran had 277 goals and 565 points in 477 games. Gamble had 300 goals and 565 points in 569 games. Gamble&rsquo;s record stood for 22 years.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great honor,&rdquo; the 32-year-old right winger said. &ldquo;When you think about the history of this organization, from the fans and the great players that have been here, Dick Gamble, Bronco Horvath, Gerry Ehman. These are players my dad (Jack) listened to on the radio in Toronto because Rochester was the Maple Leafs&rsquo; farm team. When I started to play here he brought up the names and told me how great they were.&rdquo;Gage will pass Gamble again shortly to move into third place on the AHL&rsquo;s all-time scoring list. Gamble had 892 points while Gage had 885 through Feb. 20.Gage has spent 13 pro seasons in the AHL with two organizations. He spent six years with Detroit&rsquo;s AHL affiliate in Adirondack (1979-85) and the past seven in Rochester.The veteran has played just 69 NHL games, including 10 with the Buffalo Sabres this season. He had 14 goals and 29 points in NHL play.INCREDIBLE RALLY: Binghamton coach Ron Smith was ready to throw in the towel&mdash;make that the water bottle&mdash;when Adirondack opened up a 6-3 lead against the Rangers in the third period Feb. 15.Smith was upset with Mick McGeough&rsquo;s officiating and planned to show his displeasure by firing a water bottle onto the ice.&ldquo;I was looking for a full water bottle and (defenseman) Peter Fiorentino found one for me,&rdquo; Smith says. &ldquo;I had it in my hand (but) I have to give Rick Bennett credit. He said, &lsquo;Ron, it&rsquo;s not worth it.&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re right, Benny,&rsquo; and set it down.&rdquo;Moments later, Don Biggs scored with 3:27 left to make the score 6-4. Then, with goalie Boris Rousson pulled for an extra attacker, Mike Stevens scored with 23 seconds left. Mike Hurlbut tied it with 10 seconds to play.Bennett won the game with a wraparound goal 34 seconds into overtime.BAD BOYS: Adirondack defenseman Dennis Vial was suspended for five games for cross-checking Utica center Jim Dowd across the back of the head after a 6-4 loss in Utica Feb. 14&hellip;Utica defenseman Dean Malkoc received a six-game suspension in the same game for coming off the bench to fight Jim Cummins.Hershey center Tim Tookey picked up his 700th career AHL point Feb. 14 in 5-4 win over the Baltimore Skipjacks&hellip;Cape Breton suspended winger Peter Soberlak Feb. 18 after he left the team.GUERIN FINE: While his former teammates with the U.S. Olympic team were enjoying surprising success in the Winter Games, Bill Guerin was doing just fine with the Utica Devils. Guerin, a late cut by the Olympians, was named player of the week for the period ending Feb. 16. He had four goals and six points in two games. Guerin had his first professional hat trick Feb. 14 in a 6-4 win over Adirondack. &#9632;

Americans’ scoring Gage reaches legendary status

<div class="byline">By Dave Eminian</div>Andrew McBain is trying to make his first full season in the minors his last one.The former NHLer is on a termination contract with the Vancouver Canucks, so he knows his future is now. McBain has made a major impact in the International League with Milr waukee this season.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no next year unless you produce,&rdquo; said McBain, 27, second in Admiral scoring with 18 goals and 57 points in 45 games. &ldquo;I want to play hockey-I still think I can. I&rsquo;m sticking to my guns.&rdquo;McBain&rsquo;s next NHL shot may come with an expansion team next season if Vancouver doesn&rsquo;t keep him in the organization.&ldquo;I know what I have to do,&rdquo; McBain said. &ldquo;You always hope to get called up but if that doesn&rsquo;t work, you wait for something else to happen. Teams realize who is available.&rdquo;McBain has rebounded in the IHL after an eight-year NHL career was interrupted last season when Vancouver shipped him to Milwaukee. He had 110 goals and 258 points in 488 NHL games with Winnipeg, Pittsburgh and Vancouver, including 37 goals and 77 points with the Jets in 1987-88.McBain was an 1HL all-star selection this season and was 13th in the league in scoring.&ldquo;ft was tough, getting sent down last year,&rdquo; McBain said.&rdquo;ft comes as a shock. You always feel like someone in the NHL can use you. Being in the minors takes a mental adjustment. But I knew what to expect this year.&rdquo;Being in Milwaukee-which has big-league aspects of its own-helped the adjustment.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re kind of spoiled here,&rdquo; McBain said. &ldquo;A great building, a really good front office. With the exception of a few bus rides, it&rsquo;s not too far off from the NHL. The whole caliber of the league is surprisingly good.&rdquo;DOUBLE TROUBLE?: The San Diego Gulls became a contender this season with the emergence of 25-year-old Soviet sensation Dmitri Kvartalnov, who had a league-high 47 goals and 88 points in 54 games.But now there is another Kvartalnov in San Diego-Dmitri&rsquo;s older brother, Andrei. The Gulls signed Andrei Kvartalnov in mid-February and the 27-year-old left winger scored three goals and an assist in his first five games.OLYMPIC REPS: The IHL was well-represented at the Winter Olympics, with 13 former or current players on international rosters.From Team USA: Ray LeBlanc and Jim Johannson (Indianapolis), Tim Sweeney and C.J. Young (Salt Lake) and Clark Donatelli (San Diego). From Team Canada: Adrien Plavsic (Peoria), Dave Archibald (Flint), Brian Tutt and Randy Smith (Kalamazoo) and Wally Schreiber (Fort Wayne).Also at the Olympics in Meribel, France were Italy&rsquo;s John Vecchiarelli (Peoria) and Mike Zanier (Indianapolis) and France&rsquo;s Philippe Bozon (Peoria).I-OPENERS: IHL attendance was 1,655,834 through 294 games, a 6.1 per cent increase from last season&hellip;Peona Rivermen goalie Pat Jablonski, on a conditioning assignment from St. Louis, was player of the week for the period ending Feb. 16 after going 4-0-0 and running his victory streak to six games.IHL referees called 689 major penalties through 294 games, down 26.1 per cent from last year&rsquo;s 932. Bench penalties, meanwhile, more than doubled, with 158 issued compared to last year&rsquo;s 66. Minor penalties increased to 4,441 from 3,899. In all, total penalty minutes through 294 games decreased to 16,217 from 17,610 last season. &#9632;

McBain’s a lasting impression

<div class="byline">By Nick Gates</div>There is no doubt that Dayton right winger Darren Colbourne can score. Now he needs to become a complete player to earn a ticket out of the East Coast League.&ldquo;He has a great desire to score,&rdquo; coach Claude Noel said of the Bombers&rsquo; top scorer. &ldquo;He drives to the net like no one else. In the offensive zone from the circle on down, he attacks the net with a vengeance.&rdquo;With 53 goals in 51 games, the 24-year-old native of Comer Brook, Nfld., will likely become the first player to reach 70 goals since Bill McDougall set the ECHL single-season record with 80 in 1989-90. Consider:&#9633; Nobody shoots more often. Colbourne, who was 18 points behind Greensboro&rsquo;s Phil Berger (108) in the scoring race, led the ECHL with 335 shots.&#9633; Colbourne, a 1988 Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; draft pick (227th overall) is a force when the Bombers have a power play. His 21 power-play goals were second only to Berger.&#9633; Colbourne has played all season on a line with center Mike Reier and Derek Crawford, second and third on the Bombers&rsquo; scoring list with 79 and 59 points. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve not had a slump all season,&rdquo; Noel said.What Colbourne is striving for is to shed his one-dimensional label. He came to the Bombers from Acadia University in Nova Scotia.&ldquo;There aren&rsquo;t many Brett Hull&rsquo;s around,&rdquo; Noel said. &ldquo;In order to step up, he has to be able to contribute in other ways without hurting the team. He has had lapses, but we all do. He deserves a serious look.&rdquo;So does Dayton goalie Rod Houk, at least based on recent performances. Houk, who was returned to the Bombers after sitting on the bench for 31/2 weeks at Kalamazoo of the International League, overcame the lapse to earn player-of-the-week honors for the period ending Feb. 16.Houk was 2-1-0 with a 2.67 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. He turned aside 40 shots in a 5-0 win over Erie Feb. 14. It was the first shutout for the expansion team. He also defeated Richmond 5-3 the next night before losing 5-3 at Erie Feb. 16.ALL-STAR GALA: The ECHL will stage its first All-Star Game in late January or early February, 1993, in Cincinnati. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very excited about it as I have tried for the past three seasons to have one played,&rdquo; commissioner Pat Kelly said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re still organizing a committee to finalize details.&rdquo; This much is known: media and coaches in each city will vote to select players and coaches to represent the East and West divisions and a luncheon open to the public will be held the afternoon before the game. The ECHL will sponsor the event in conjunction with the Cincinnati Cyclones and the Greater Cincinnati Sports and Events Commission.NOTEBOOK: Cincinnati turned the ice at Cincinnati Gardens pink to celebrate Valentine&rsquo;s Day. The Cyclones defeated Richmond 3-1 for their 12th consecutive win at home. Louisville snapped the streak with an 8-6 win the next night as Sheldon Gorski and defenseman Scott Humeniuk scored two goals each. Gorski returned to the IceHawks&rsquo; lineup after missing three games because of bruised ribs. Louisville left winger Paul Gherardi, who was out three months with a broken wrist, also returned for the Cincinnati game&hellip;Johnstown center Brian Ferreira tore cartilage in his knee in the Chiefs&rsquo; 7-3 win over Columbus Feb. 16 and will miss the rest of the regular season. &#9632;

Bomber’s next target elusive 70-goal mark

Here are six things you need to know about International League teams and their NHL affiliations.Long-standing partners: St. Louis and Peoria have have been working together the longest but have been together only since 1984-85.Long road: Vancouver to Milwaukee is the longest NHL reassignment trip with an IHL partner-2,170 miles.Cab fare will do: Chicago to Indianapolis is 160 miles. St. Louis to Peoria is a close second at 180 miles.What a difference: Kansas City was 25-53-4 as an independent last season. As the San Jose Shark&rsquo;s farm team, the Blades were 45-15-2.Who needs an affiliation?: Fort Wayne and San Diego. The league&rsquo;s two independent teams ranked second and third overall.The turning point: That came in 1987 when Minnesota, Calgary, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and the New York Rangers left the American League and signed working agreements in the IHL. The Rangers have since returned to the AHL. &#9632;

NHL has its eye on the IHL

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>Sandy Allan was born in the Bahamas but had little chance to become a beach bum after his parents moved to Canada when he was three. So he settled on being a rink rat.The 18-year-old rookie goalie for the North Bay Centennials has been an important player in the cat-and-mouse game being waged for first place in the Ontario League&rsquo;s Leyden Division.He has made fans forget his rookie status with a 16-5-2 record and 3.89 goals-against average, fifth best in the league. The NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Bureau ranked Allan second among North American goalies eligible for the 1992 draft.&ldquo;That shocked me,&rdquo; said Allan, North Bay&rsquo;s fifth-round draft choice from the Toronto Young Nats midgets in 1991. &ldquo;I remember the morning my billet came crashing into my bedroom to tell me she&rsquo;d heard on radio I was rated. I said &lsquo;That&rsquo;s nice, what am I, 20th?&rsquo; She said second and I fell out of bed.&rdquo;Allan shares duties with veteran Ron Bertrand, 19-11-1 with a 3.91 GAA, and the two have helped North Bay maintain a one-point lead over second-place Cornwall. Coach Bert Templeton decided in training camp Allan would receive his fair share of playing time.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a real intense kid and a real hard worker. He doesn&rsquo;t let minor things bother him,&rdquo; Templeton said. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t hesitate to use Sandy in the playoffs. No question.&rdquo;Allan Fas dedicated this season to his father, Ian, who lied of cancer eight years ago.&ldquo;My success evolves around that,&rdquo; Allan said. &ldquo;I still feel close to him. I know my dad would be proud. I think about him a lot when we&rsquo;re on the bus, but this is not only for him but for my mom (Chris), too. She was always driving me to hockey after dad died.&rdquo;TORONTO ON HOLD: Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s bid for an OHL expansion team to play in Toronto&rsquo;s Maple Leaf Gardens is on hold until the 1993-94 season.&ldquo;With the Los Angeles Kings getting ready for the playoffs and the unresolved (sale) situation in Hull (Gretzky owns the Quebec League&rsquo;s Olympiques), to take on an extra project now would not be in anyone&rsquo;s best interest,&rdquo; said Gretzky&rsquo;s agent, Michael Barnett.HE&rsquo;S BACK: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds right winger Chris Simon returned to the team Feb. 13 with a new attitude after being suspended by the team for 12 days.&ldquo;You either go by the team rules or you play lunch-time hockey,&rdquo; said Simon, already suspended 25 games by the OHL while playing only 23. &ldquo;I was skating in the morning and playing (pickup) hockey at lunch-time.&rdquo;In his first four games back with the Greyhounds. Simon had three goals, three assists and only five minor penalties.RYDING HIGH: Ottawa goalie Dan Ryder had three shutouts in five starts and was riding a personal 11-game winning streak. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had any stretch like this,&rdquo; said Ryder, 12-3-0 with a 2.12 GAA since being traded to Ottawa by Sudbury&hellip;Oshawa Generals&rsquo; and Canadian national junior team goalie Mike Fountain returned to beat Detroit 6-3 Feb. 14 after missing three weeks with an ankle injury.Windsor Spitfires&rsquo; left winger Todd Warriner returned to the lineup Feb. 20 after missing a month with stretched knee ligaments. He&rsquo;s rated No. 2 among North American skaters for the NHL draft&hellip;Guelph Storm right winger Alek Stojanov will miss the rest of the season with a separated shoulder, which he suffered Feb. 8 against Niagara Falls. He was Vancouver&rsquo;s first pick, seventh overall, in the 1991 draft and played just 33 games this season. &#9632;

North Bay becoming Allan’s town

<div class="byline">By Ken Warren</div>When is a trade not really a trade? When it happens at the Quebec League trading deadline and it&rsquo;s really a loan.The Laval Titan and Granby Bisons continued the QMJHL&rsquo;s storied tradition of bizarre trade-deadline deals Feb. 15.Leading scorer Hugues Mongeon and defenseman Philippe Boucher. Buffalo&rsquo;s first-round draft choice in 1991, were traded to Laval from Granby for two-way center Yannick Frechette, and a second- and third-round pick in the 1992 entry draft.The catch is, both Mongeon and Boucher go back to Granby at the beginning of next season if they return to junior.QMJHL president Gilles Courteau said these kinds of deals give the league a bad name. He wants the practice to stop.&ldquo;I am surprised whenever I see a trade like this,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;From one point of view, it&rsquo;s great that a team like Laval wants to be as ready as they can to go for the Memorial Cup.&ldquo;But I&rsquo;m very concerned about it. I don&rsquo;t know if it&rsquo;s such a good idea to loan players. We have to look at it.&rdquo;TRADES, TRADES: Following their &lsquo;deal&rsquo; with Granby, Laval then swapped with College Francais to get some draft choices back.Laval sent 19-year-old goaltender Eric Raymond and overage center Pascal Vincent to College Francais for first, fourth- and sixthround picks in 1992.The Titan also picked up goaltender Bruno Ducharme from Victoriaville for a 12th-round selection, while College Francais swung a second deal, picking up left winger Yanick Dupre from Drummondville for center Stephane Paradis and third- and sixth-round choices.Drummondville picked up defenseman Eric Rochette from St-Jean for defenseman Stephane Desjardins and a fourth-round pick. WVictoriaville dealt heavyweight Joe Napolitano to Hull for a fourth-round pick, then sent goalie Alain Gauthier and overage defenseman Martin Lacombe to Beauport for sixth-round picks in the 1992 and &rsquo;93 drafts.Beauport picked up Dominic Maltais from St-Jean, giving up right winger Patrick Deraspe and a second-round selection. Beauport then sent center Stefan Simoes to Shawinigan for a sixth-round pick, and in a final deal, acquired overage defenseman Carl LeBlanc from Granby for center Martin Rozon.St-Jean sent left winger Yves Sarault and defenseman Jason Downey to Trois-Rivieres for defenseman Sebastien Moreau, winger Steve Ares and second- and third-round picks.OLYMPIQUE SPARK: Hull Olympiques&rsquo;left winger Todd Sparks was player of the week for the period ending Feb. 16. Sparks, playing with Jim Campbell and first-round prospect Paul Brousseau, had a goal and nine assists in three games&hellip;St-Hyacinthe center Martin Gendron, tied with Mongeon for the league scoring lead, became the first Canadian Hockey League player to hit the 60-goal plateau.In his last game with Granby, Mongeon had five points against Hull Feb. 14, the sixth time he has done so this season. He also had 13 games with two goals&hellip;Following the trades, Beauport had nine players with more than 100 penalty minutes: Matthew Barnaby (396), Reginald Brezeault (256), Martin Lacombe (203). Ian McIntyre (201), Herve Lapointe (189), Carl Leblanc (128), Martin Roy (119), PatricePaquin (119) and Dominic Maltais (119). &#9632;

Titan Memorial Cup drive boosted by bizarre ‘trade’

The Valvoline Top Draft Prospect Award is a little different from the NHL Central Scouting Bureau&rsquo;s listing of draft-eligible prospects, nstead of basing its list on reports from scouts, a panel of four media members in each of the three leagues votes five times per season on whom they believe are the top prospects. Here&rsquo;s the latest top three listing from each league. Information includes name, age. position. team, height, weight, games played, goals, assists, points and penalty minutes.Western League: 1. David Cooper, 18, LD, Medicine Hat, 6-1, 190, 59-15-39-54-68. 2. Kevin Smyth, 18, LW, Moose Jaw, 6-2, 200. 59-27-46-73-78. 3. Mike Rathje. 17, LD. Medicine Hat, 6-4,190, 54-6-17-23-87.Ontario League: 1. Todd Warriner, 18, LW. Windsor, 6-1, 180, 41-34-35-69-54. 2. Cory Stillman, 18, C, Windsor, 5-11, 180, 42-25-49-74-47. 3. Curtis Bowen, 17. LW, Ottawa, 6-1,185. 55-27-39-66-81.Quebec League: 1. Paul Brosseau, 18, RW, Hull, 6-2, 212, 42-25-49-74-38. 2. Dean Melanson. 18, RD, St-Hyacinthe. 6-0, 213.28-6-15-21-68. 3. Simon Roy. 17, RD, Shawinigan, 6-1,181.55-3-23-26-20. &#9632;

Letting the writers decide

<div class="byline">By Lance Goshko</div>Mike McBain is the first player to become a member of the Red Deer Rebels expansion franchise, which begins its inaugural season in the Western League this fall.The 15-year-old defenseman from Kimberley, B.C., was selected first overall in the WHL&rsquo;s bantam draft recently in Saskatoon. The draft was for players bom in 1977.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an offensive defenseman who likes to play it physical,&rdquo; said Rebels&rsquo; director of hockey operations Jeff Chynoweth.Red Deer had the first choice in each of seven rounds. The Rebels chose defenseman Barkley Sauter in the second round. Seventy-three players were selected-25 defensemen, 23 centers, 10 right wingers, eight left wingers and seven goalies.McBain is the brother of Portland defenseman Jason McBain, rated by Central Scouting Bureau as the 15th-best prospect in the 1992 NHL draft. Sauter is a nephew of former WHL coach Doug Sauter, while Red Deer&rsquo;s third choice, defenseman Corey Demoissac, is a cousin of former Vancouver Canuck Stan Smyl.The first three players selected were defensemen. Brandon listed Wade Redden of Hillmond, Sask., second. Terry Ryan from Quesnel, B.C., went third to Tri-City.PENNY PINCHERS: It&rsquo;s penny pinching time in Regina. In an effort to keep costs down, the Regina Pats implemented a new office rule. All long distance phone calls must be cleared through general manager Bill Hicke.&ldquo;Our phone bill has gone from $16,000 to $28,000,&rdquo; Hicke said. &ldquo;I got hell from my partners. We&rsquo;re trying to run a tighter ship.&rdquo;Hicke said the Pats&rsquo; financial picture isn&rsquo;t desperate but if the team fails to make the playoffs this season, he and his partners will lose more money. The owners lost $350,000 in their first three seasons before making a five-figure profit in 1989-90 and breaking even last season.&ldquo;We usually draw 3,500 to 4,000 people in the playoffs,&rdquo; Hicke said. &ldquo;That gives us an additional $30,000. Any playoff money you get is a bonus because most of the bills are paid.&rdquo;REBEL ROUSERS: Red Deer has sold 2,330 season tickets for next season and are more than half way to their goal of4,000.&ldquo;People are going gung-ho here,&rdquo; Chynoweth said. &ldquo;Merchandise is selling like hot cakes.&rdquo;Chynoweth said the Rebels have sold rink board advertising to 30 Red Deer companies and have sold out eight luxury boxes at Red Deer&rsquo;s new 5,800-seat Centurium.FOND MEMORIES: Medicine Hat Tigers&rsquo; defenseman Mike Vandenberghe had few memories of a Feb. 15 games against the Prince Albert Raiders.Vandenberghe, 19, was knocked unconscious for five minutes after a second period elbow by Nick Polychronopoulos. Vandenberghe skated off the ice under his own power and was told by Tiger trainer Doug Ball to go to the dressing room located under the stands.Vandenberghe couldn&rsquo;t find the room and wandered up and down the corridor for a few minutes. After Ball finally sat him down in his stall, Vandenberghe asked how he got there, if his penalty was over and did he win the fight.He then asked Ball, &ldquo;when did I get traded?&rdquo;Vandenberghe, acquired from Brandon last Nov. 12, didn&rsquo;t suffer any permanent damage and returned to action the next day. &#9632;

Rebels keep bantam selections all in the family

<h2>STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01813/6507958-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="995" height="920"></div><h2>OVERALL STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02501/6507951-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="493" height="611"></div><h2>OVERTIME RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03320/6507944-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="480" height="608"></div><h2>RESULTS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04219/6507937-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="997" height="1110"></div><h2>DIVISIONAL RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05153/6507930-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="527" height="782"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-06120/6507923-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="907" height="1066"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jaromir Jagr returned from a 10-game suspension Feb. 20 and had a goal and an assist against Quebec.</figcaption></div><h2>POWER PLAY</h2>POWER PLAY (ADV)&mdash;TOTAL ADVANTAGES; (PPG)&mdash;POWER-PLAY GOALS; (PCT)&mdash;POWER-PLAY GOALS DIVIDED BY TOTAL ADVANTAGES.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-07100/6507916-1-eng-US/f0027-072.jpg" title="f0027-07" width="456" height="637"></div><h2>TEAM PENALTIES</h2>(PIM)&mdash;TOTAL PENALTY MINUTES INCLUDING (BMI) BENCH PENALTY MINUTES; (AVG)&mdash;AVERAGE PENALTY MINUTES PER GAME.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0889/6507909-1-eng-US/f0027-082.jpg" title="f0027-08" width="398" height="653"></div><h2>PENALTY KILLING</h2>(TSH)&mdash;TOTAL TIMES SHORTHANDED; (PPGA)&mdash;POWER-PLAY GOALS ALLOWED; (PCT)&mdash;SUCCESSFUL PENALTY-KILLING PERCENTAGE.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0985/6507902-1-eng-US/f0027-092.jpg" title="f0027-09" width="463" height="636"></div><h2>TOP SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1078/6507895-1-eng-US/f0027-102.jpg" title="f0027-10" width="585" height="550"></div><h2>TOP DEFENSEMEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1167/6507888-1-eng-US/f0027-112.jpg" title="f0027-11" width="585" height="298"></div><h2>TOP ROOKIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1257/6507881-1-eng-US/f0027-122.jpg" title="f0027-12" width="601" height="303"></div><h2>LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1351/6507874-1-eng-US/f0027-132.jpg" title="f0027-13" width="605" height="1481"></div><h2>SCHEDULE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1446/6507867-1-eng-US/f0027-142.jpg" title="f0027-14" width="490" height="1128"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1537/6507860-1-eng-US/f0027-152.jpg" title="f0027-15" width="468" height="989"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1630/6507853-1-eng-US/f0027-162.jpg" title="f0027-16" width="467" height="707"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Messier</figcaption></div><h2>BOSTON BRUINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01852/6507846-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="1004" height="1381"></div><h2>BUFFALO SABRES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02565/6507839-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="1002" height="918"></div><h2>CALGARY FLAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03400/6507832-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="1000" height="889"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04283/6507825-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="973" height="145"></div><h2>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05222/6507818-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="995" height="1271"></div><h2>DETROIT RED WINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06191/6507811-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="994" height="940"></div><h2>EDMONTON OILERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-07171/6507804-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="994" height="834"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-08155/6507797-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="989" height="115"></div><h2>HARTFORD WHALERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-09144/6507790-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="998" height="980"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES KINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-10138/6507783-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="989" height="837"></div><h2>MINNESOTA NORTH STARS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-11132/6507776-1-eng-US/f0028-112.jpg" title="f0028-11" width="993" height="828"></div><h2>MONTREAL CANADIENS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-12125/6507769-1-eng-US/f0028-122.jpg" title="f0028-12" width="991" height="362"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01745/6507762-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="989" height="550"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02477/6507755-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="991" height="858"></div><h2>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03304/6507748-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="1003" height="1209"></div><h2>NEW YORK RANGERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04216/6507741-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="989" height="630"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05189/6507734-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="979" height="226"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-06154/6507727-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="985" height="1095"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-07128/6507720-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="989" height="1034"></div><h2>QUEBEC NORDIQUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-08111/6507713-1-eng-US/f0029-082.jpg" title="f0029-08" width="992" height="903"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-09103/6507706-1-eng-US/f0029-092.jpg" title="f0029-09" width="988" height="61"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1094/6507699-1-eng-US/f0029-102.jpg" title="f0029-10" width="997" height="991"></div><h2>SAN JOSE SHARKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1188/6507692-1-eng-US/f0029-112.jpg" title="f0029-11" width="995" height="756"></div><h2>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1278/6507685-1-eng-US/f0029-122.jpg" title="f0029-12" width="995" height="1116"></div><h2>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1365/6507678-1-eng-US/f0029-132.jpg" title="f0029-13" width="990" height="197"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01844/6507671-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="993" height="572"></div><h2>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02563/6507664-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="985" height="169"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03385/6507657-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="984" height="541"></div><h2>WINNIPEG JETS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04272/6507650-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="986" height="198"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05197/6507643-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="1000" height="834"></div> &#9632;

f0027-01

NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

<h2>NOTE</h2>Unofficial game summaries provided by National Hockey League; (shots on goal/plus-minus); SA-shots against; GA-goals against; ENG-empty net goals; DEC-decision, charged to goaltenders of record when deciding goal is scored.<h2>MONDAY, FEB. 17</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1094/6508195-1-eng-US/f0030-102.jpg" title="f0030-10" width="589" height="772"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1187/6508188-1-eng-US/f0030-112.jpg" title="f0030-11" width="597" height="1141"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1281/6508181-1-eng-US/f0030-122.jpg" title="f0030-12" width="601" height="1133"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1377/6508174-1-eng-US/f0030-132.jpg" title="f0030-13" width="603" height="1139"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1471/6508167-1-eng-US/f0030-142.jpg" title="f0030-14" width="590" height="1142"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01782/6508160-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="602" height="925"></div><h2>TUESDAY, FEB. 18</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02511/6508153-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="600" height="2490"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03369/6508146-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="610" height="2739"></div><h2>WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04278/6508139-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="586" height="673"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05226/6508132-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="609" height="3496"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06188/6508125-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="611" height="2056"></div><h2>THURSDAY, FEB. 20</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-07163/6508118-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="589" height="1356"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-08140/6508111-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="602" height="3492"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01840/6508104-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="583" height="87"></div><h2>FRIDAY, FEB. 21</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02576/6508097-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="590" height="3316"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03397/6508090-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="585" height="3220"></div><h2>SATURDAY, FEB. 22</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04272/6508083-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="575" height="194"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05201/6508076-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="588" height="3495"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-06166/6508069-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="577" height="3303"></div><h2>SUNDAY, FEB. 23</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-07139/6508062-1-eng-US/f0032-072.jpg" title="f0032-07" width="568" height="113"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-08123/6508055-1-eng-US/f0032-082.jpg" title="f0032-08" width="590" height="3499"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01759/6508048-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="603" height="3504"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02514/6508041-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="604" height="3500"></div> &#9632;

f0030-10

NHL SUMMARIES

Many professional players once played in Quebec&rsquo;s famous international peewee tournament. Alan Richartz hopes one day he can look back at it as a stepping stone to his professional career.The 13-year-old resident of Freeport, N.Y., is on his way to the prestigious tournament this spring. He&rsquo;ll be on a team of Long Island Hockey League all-stars coached by former New York Islander Wayne Merrick.Richartz is a 5-foot-2, 95-pound forward who has shown a knack for scoring critical goals. In 35 games for the Freeport Arrows this season, he had 47 goals and 74 points.Richartz is also on the honor roll at Dodd Jr. High School in Freeport.The Grade 8 student follows the New York Islanders and his favorite player is former Islander Pat LaFontaine.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-11118/6508460-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="574" height="1099"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alan Richartz</figcaption></div>You or someone you know can be a part of The Hockey News Minor Hockey Showcase. Just send a photograph (non-returnable), along with biographical information (age, height, weight, team, coach&rsquo;s name, school and grade, as well as favorite NHL team and player) to The Hockey News, attention: Player of the Week, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont., M3B 2R2. All entries submitted will be eligible for selection as The Hockey News Minor Hockey Player of the Year. &#9632;

f0033-11

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

<h2>OLYMPICS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03379/6508429-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="591" height="1427"></div><h2>MONDAY, FEB. 17</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04299/6508422-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="568" height="684"></div><h2>TUESDAY, FEB. 18</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05248/6508415-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="585" height="1145"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06213/6508408-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="588" height="562"></div><h2>FRIDAY, FEB. 21</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07193/6508401-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="584" height="1159"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-08160/6508394-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="579" height="194"></div><h2>SATURDAY, FEB. 22</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-09141/6508387-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="599" height="695"></div><h2>SUNDAY, FEB. 23</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-10125/6508380-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="596" height="749"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01848/6508373-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="615" height="3491"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02597/6508366-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="620" height="3492"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03466/6508359-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="623" height="3490"></div>NOTE: ALL STATISTICS ARE AS OF MONDAY.FEB 24/92, UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.NHL AFFILIATIONS OF MINOR PROFESSIONAL TEAMS APPEAR IN BRACKETS; INDEPENDENT TEAMS WITH NO NHL AFFILIATION ARE INDICATED BY (IND).<h2>AHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04358/6508352-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="595" height="2253"></div><h2>COLONIAL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05287/6508345-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="592" height="916"></div><h2>IHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06253/6508338-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="593" height="1805"></div><h2>ECHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-07233/6508331-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="597" height="1524"></div><h2>WHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01806/6508324-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="592" height="1253"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02588/6508317-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="589" height="540"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03476/6508310-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="563" height="752"><figcaption class="caption-body">Donevan Hextall</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04383/6508303-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="559" height="733"><figcaption class="caption-body">Norm Maracle</figcaption></div><h2>OHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05322/6508296-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="586" height="1753"></div><h2>QMJHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06294/6508289-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="609" height="1580"></div><h2>NCAA TOP 10</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07272/6508282-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="583" height="455"></div><h2>WCHA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08243/6508275-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="597" height="1419"></div><h2>HOCKEY EAST</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-09223/6508268-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="610" height="1356"></div><h2>CCHA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-10196/6508261-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="599" height="1273"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-11171/6508254-1-eng-US/f0035-112.jpg" title="f0035-11" width="552" height="747"><figcaption class="caption-body">Darrin Madeley</figcaption></div><h2>ECAC</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-12150/6508247-1-eng-US/f0035-122.jpg" title="f0035-12" width="597" height="1250"></div><h2>AUAA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-13133/6508240-1-eng-US/f0035-132.jpg" title="f0035-13" width="590" height="940"></div><h2>OUAA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-14113/6508233-1-eng-US/f0035-142.jpg" title="f0035-14" width="594" height="821"></div><h2>CWUAA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-15100/6508226-1-eng-US/f0035-152.jpg" title="f0035-15" width="594" height="1492"></div> &#9632;

f0033-03

SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01763/6508491-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ron Tugnutt is one of the Nordiques who have linked the team&rsquo;s losing to the unresolved Eric Lindros situation. (Photo by Tim Parker)</figcaption></div>So the Quebec Nordiques are not going to get Eric Lindros. And granted, for most players, Quebec City doesn&rsquo;t rank high on the list of desired destinations.Yes, the problems of running the Nordiques rival those faced by any pro organization in North America, but this is getting ridiculous.Five consecutive seasons out of the playoffs? Five consecutive seasons in last place in the Adams Division&mdash;a division where the Hartford Whalers are more than willing to take over the role of doormat?Hard as it is to do, for a minute let&rsquo;s forget the Lindros situation. Let&rsquo;s just pretend Lindros was a first overall pick who just happened to need a another year of junior. Take that out of the mix, and you&rsquo;re still looking at a team with a roster studded with two No. 1 selections overall, Mats Sundin (1989) and Owen Nolan (1990); a third overall pick in Curtis Leschyshyn (1988); and ninth overall pick in Bryan Fogarty (1987).Despite all of this, and despite the presence of the expansion San Jose Sharks, the Nords could finish last overall for a fourth consecutive season-a feat not accomplished since the Boston Bruins landed in last place for five seasons (1961-65). Of course, there were only six teams then.So, who is the blame?Is it the ownership? Is it general manager Pierre Page, who has not been able to round up a pool of role players? Is it past management, which left the cupboard bare and did not understand the way to blend young talent with veterans? Or is it the revolving door of players, each of whom should take a percentage of the blame?Hey, maybe it&rsquo;s even the medical staff which did not believe Dale Hunter would recover from a leg injury in 1986, and gave its blessing to a trade which sent the heart of the Nordiques to the Washington Capitals in 1987.The simple fact of the matter is that the Nords have not made the playoffs since Hunter left and the Capitals have not missed the playoffs since he arrived. But how much can you peg on one player? Furthermore, the Nordiques drafted Joe Sakic with the pick they got in exchange for Hunter.No, nothing is simple when you try to dissect the problems of the Quebec Nordiques. Laying the blame for the mess on one person just isn&rsquo;t possible. No, this has been a group effort.By the time Peter Stastny was traded in March of 1990, the retreat was in full force. From three consecutive seasons with 90 or more points, to a steady decline of 72, 69, 61, 31, and a rousing resurgence of 46 last season. As of late February, the Nordiques had nine more chances to get a win on the road this season.A perfect example of what is wrong with the Nordiques occurred this season when goalie Ron Tugnutt was signed to a new deal, then proclaimed that if the Nordiques wanted to win, they had to sign Lindros.It was a statement which infuriated Page but in a way it explains the franchise&rsquo;s malaise: if winning is habit forming, then losing is downright addictive, especially when you&rsquo;ve got the excuse of playing in Quebec.&ldquo;What we lack,&rdquo; Page said, &ldquo;is leadership. We have so many young players, so many talented young players. But when things start going wrong, there is no leadership to stop it.&ldquo;So many times, I think we&rsquo;re playing well, and pfffft&hellip; something goes wrong and we fall apart.&rdquo;Page shrugs off the argument he is has been handcuffed by circum stances. He is not willing to use geography or language as excuses to signing Lindros or the other players they need. In reality, though, it is tough to discount that as a major factor.The fact of the matter is that Lindros&mdash;and many other quality NHL players-will not play in Quebec City. Perhaps it&rsquo;s pigheaded of them. But the Nordiques may be better off if some of their players would get a little more pig-headed about accepting defeat after defeat, and a little less willing to use the first available excuse to accept it. &#9632;

f0036-01

Losing Their Way

<div class="byline">By Kevin Dupont</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02531/6508529-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="362" height="485"></div>America the brutalful. What better describes the USA&rsquo;s final foray in the picturesque French Alps? After nearly a fortnight of fun, and the courage to dream a little, America&rsquo;s best &ldquo;amateur&rdquo; players left the Olympics without a medal&mdash;and with one final, disgraceful footnote of embarrassing sportsmanship.In what could have been one of its proudest moments, USA Hockey left the Olympic Patinoire looking like the national governing body of &ldquo;Punks R Us.&rdquo;After an exciting qualifying round, the Yanks gave the French a Flyer-like mugging at the end of their first game in the playdown. Sticks raised. Elbows flailing. Tempers soaring. No, America couldn&rsquo;t leave a 4-1 win well enough alone. They said au revoir and treated the French to a diet of jabs in the ribs and fists to the chin in the minutes before and after the final horn.Ah, but the worst was yet to come. Faced with the Unified Team in the semifinals, and a chance to win their first medal since the gold in Lake Placid, Team USA turned in not the mother of all battles, but the pee-wee of all performances. The former Soviets took 96 shots and 55 made their way to goalie Ray LeBlanc. The final defeat read 5-2, but if not for LeBlanc the score might have resembled the 31-1 thumping the Yanks gave the Italians in the 1948 Games of St. Moritz.The loss to the ex-Soviets showed the Americans to be vastly lacking in skill level, unable to crack the offensive slot and forever backing out of the neutral zone as if believing driving in reverse would somehow peel miles off their odometers or goals off the scoreboard. In the end, they were sent to the international hockey scrap heap, doors blown off, tires worn to the rim.If ever there was a game to say, &ldquo;Aw, shucks, we weren&rsquo;t good enough,&rdquo; this was it for the Yanks. Not for a second did the proud men of the former CCCP look like the Big Dead Machine. The right thing for Team USA would have been a bow of respect, followed by a run for the bus before the 11HF checked their equipment bags to find out if they had all played on doublerunners.But, no, the real story in Team USA&rsquo;s eyes was the vision and heritage of referee Sven Erik Sold. When in doubt, bash the Swede. If it&rsquo;s worked all these years for Don Cherry, the Americans must have thought, then it surely could work on the right side of the Atlantic, too.&ldquo;The Swedes got the best of us this time,&rdquo; carped team captain Clark Donatelli, moments after stepping off the ice-his helmet perhaps too tight on his head. &ldquo;Their hockey team couldn&rsquo;t beat us, but their referee surely could.&rdquo;Donatelli&rsquo;s logic, if you will, stemmed from an earlier 3-3 tie the Yanks had with the Swedes. In the early moments of that qualifyinground match, former NHLer Mats Naslund hammered Greg Brown into the boards, knocking the U.S. defenseman unconscious and leaving him with a broken nose and deep forehead laceration. How dare he play the hitting game. The outrage. A former Lady Byng winner, no less.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not beating my chest and thinking I&rsquo;m Tarzan,&rdquo; a somber Naslund said afterwards. He had been tossed out of the game for the heavy hit. &ldquo;I was just finishing my check, North American-style, if that&rsquo;s what you want to call it. Maybe I&rsquo;ll have to give back the Lady Byng.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03432/6508522-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="557" height="696"><figcaption class="caption-body">Clark Donatelli</figcaption></div>Their dreams of a gold gone in their match with the ex-Soviets, the Americans couldn&rsquo;t stomach the truth. There had to be a real reason, beyond their inferior play. Sure, the Swedish referee. How could the Yanks have been so stupid? Hey, if they had woken up earlier, they could have made a real run at the gold by burying Sold with a Naslund-like check and getting Finnish referee Seppo Makela to come in and make the right calls.The next night, a bronze medal within their reach, the Americans waved the white flag of surrender. Czechoslovakia ran it up to 6-1, leaving goaltender Petr Briza to comment, &ldquo;(The Americans) don&rsquo;t play hockey, they just hurry around.&rdquo;Three straight Olympiads without a hockey medal. Another American record. Stand beside her, and guide her&hellip; America the brutaiful. &#9632;

f0036-02

Yankees go home without dignity

<div class="byline">By Jeff Jacobs</div>When Hartford Whalers&rsquo; coach Jim Roberts called the Feb. 22 game against Quebec &ldquo;the biggest game of the season,&rdquo; it became painfully evident how low the expectations have become for this struggling franchise.The Whalers beat the Nordiques 4-0 and continued to rule the final playoff spot in the Adams Division by divine right. But the Kingdom Of Fourth Place, which was as large as 85 points two years ago, has shrunk considerably for this struggling team which won just twice in 21 games (2-12-7) from Jan. 2 to Feb. 23.Pivotal factors: 1. The schedule and fatigue factor. The Whalers have an NHL-high 19 games after March 1. Depending on how you look at it, that can either be a blessing (opportunity to make up lost ground) or a curse (will wear them down). 2. Zar-ley Zalapski&rsquo;s continued improvement. He has emerged as the team&rsquo;s best player, seeing about 28 minutes of ice time a game, but will he be able to maintain that pace down the stretch? 3. Offense. With John Cullen and Pat Verbeek on separate lines and a half-dozen players called up from Springfield, can the Whalers generate enough offense?Hardware hopefuls: None.Needs: A strong, two-way center to replace Ron Francis; an aggressive, intimidating defenseman to replace Ulf Samuelsson; offense and more offense; and-with Kay Whitmore struggling and still unproven as a stopper-maybe an ace goalie.Available: Everyone except for Zalapski.Trade talk: Although Edmonton has been the most bandied destination, Verbeek could wind up anywhere.Above and beyond: Defenseman Marc Bergevin simply re-emerging as an NHL player after two years in the minors is a minor miracle. As far as major impact, however, Kay Whitmore (October), Mikael Andersson (November), Murray Craven (December), John Cullen (January) and Zarley Zalapski (February) have hit hot streaks only to fall off.Down and out: Simply running the entire roster of the Whalers would probably be the most succinct, accurate list. But Verbeek emerging with $825,000 in arbitration and having 15 goals at the three-quarters pole is the most disappointing.NOTEBOOK: Whalers&rsquo; owner Richard Gordon doused a wild rumor he was about to sell the club to Lloyd Petit, who would move it to Milwaukee. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never talked to the man in my life,&rdquo; Gordon said. Gordon, however, is optimistically awaiting word on a $20-million loan application from the Connecticut Development Authority, a state-run agency to promote business. &ldquo;It will help us spread out our debt over 20 years,&rdquo; Gordon said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m optimistic.&rdquo;After general manager Ed Johnston expressed concern Bobby Holik&rsquo;s play, his Canada Cup absence from Team Czechoslovakia and general demeanor had been affected by falling in love with Gordon&rsquo;s former receptionist, Holik reacted by stopping interviews with the Hartford Courant and Manchester Journal Inquirer. Both papers ran the story.<h2>HARTFORD</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 17: Dan Keczmer, D, assigned to Springfield. Feb, 19: Terry Yake, C. Mark Greig. RW, and Michel Picard. LW, recalled from Springfield.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;John Cullen, James Black, Murray Craven, Terry Yake, Andrew Cassels.LW&mdash;Mikael Andersson, Yvon Corriveau, Jim McKenzie, Michel Picard, Randy Cunneyworth.RW&mdash;Bobby Holik, Pat Verbeek, Daniel Shank, Mark Greig, Ed Kastelic, Mark Hunter.LD&mdash;Randy Ladouceur, Zarley Zalapski, Marc Bergevin.RD&mdash;Brad Shaw, Doug Houda, Steve Konroyd, Adam BurtG&mdash;Kay Whitmore, Peter Sidorkiewicz.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Paul Gillis. C, broken left foot, indefinite. &#9632;

Divine right over fourth place means team still disappointing

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div>To assess the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; chances in the playoffs, all you have to do is take a quick peek into the trainer&rsquo;s room.If therapist Gaetan Lefebvre is handing out more ice than a bartender, the Habs&rsquo; chances are likely on ice.But if things are all quiet on the medical front, the Habs should be able to make headway.When the club has its regulars in the lineup, it features four solid lines and a competent if unspectacular defensive corps.Pivotal factors: 1. Health or lack of it-has to be considered when assessing the team&rsquo;s chances. 2. Patrick Roy. The league&rsquo;s premier goaltender can carry this team a long way. 3. Shayne Corson. The bad-boy winger got it together last year in the playoffs after a mediocre regular season. He&rsquo;ll have to do it again.Hardware hopefuls: Roy, Hart and Vezina; Guy Carbonneau, Seike; Pat Burns, Adams.Needs: Like most teams in the NHL, the Habs could use a tough defenseman. The club&rsquo;s physical presence behind the blue line is almost non-existent.Available: Corson, Sylvain Turgeon. General manager Serge Savard is adamant he won&rsquo;t trade the Canadiens&rsquo; younger prospects.Trade talk: Corson could be traded at the deadline.Above and beyond: Kirk Muller came to the Canadiens after a 19-goal, 70-point season with the New Jersey Devils. With 29 goals through 62 games, he&rsquo;s a cinch to score 30 goals for the fourth time in his career and topping his career-best total of 37 isn&rsquo;t out of the question. The Habs thought they knew what they were getting in Muller. It turns out they got what they expected&hellip;and a little more.Down and out: Turgeon is a two-time 40-goal scorer in his nine-year NHL career. He could still score 40 for the Canadiens-if he plays another 10 seasons.NOTEBOOK: Shayne Corson returned to the lineup Feb. 17 after missing one game due to a club-imposed suspension following an altercation at a downtown Montreal bar. His off-ice antics didn&rsquo;t affect his performance, however. Corson had 10 goals in his last 11 games, four in the two games following the suspension&hellip; Center Stephan Lebeau, who had a career-high 23 goals in 62 games, signed a new two-year contract Feb. 22. He will earn $375,000 this season and $400,000 next year.<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 22: Stephan Lebeau. C, signed two-year contract.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Guy Carbonneau, Stephan Lebeau, Brian Skrudland, Denis Savard.LW&mdash;Mike McPhee, Shayne Corson, John LeClair, Gilbert Dionne, Sylvain Turgeon.RW&mdash;Russ Courtnall, Kirk Muller, Mike Keane, Brent Gilchrist, Todd Ewen.LD&mdash;Jean-Jacques Daigneault, Petr Svoboda, Mathieu Schneider, Donald Dufresne.RD-Sytvain Lefebvre, Eric Desjardins, Patrice Brisebois, Lyle OdeleinG&mdash;Patrick Roy, Andre Racicot.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Benoit Brunet, LW, broken right ankle, indefinite. Paul DiPietro, C, right hip flexor, day-to-day. Chris Nllan, RW, sprained right wrisf day-to-day. Mario Roberge, LW, strained left thigh, indefinite. &#9632;

Keeping the doctor away will make everybody’s day

<div class="byline">By Kevin Johnston</div>The Quebec Nordiques were in a familiar spot through the first three quarters of the 1991-92 season: dead last in the Adams Division.That&rsquo;s where they&rsquo;ve finished the past four seasons and that&rsquo;s where they&rsquo;re likely to end up for the fifth straight time.But unlike previous years, the Nordiques had reason to be optimistic down the stretch. As improbable as it sounds, Quebec has a remote chance of making the playoffs-even though they hadn&rsquo;t won a road game through Feb. 24 (0-23-8).The fourth-place Hartford Whalers were 10 points up after 58 games but were stumbling along at a 2-5-3 pace in their last 10 games.The Whalers and Nordiques play each other three times down the stretch, so there is a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dismal season.Pivotal factors: 1. The Eric Lindros situation. Many players have questioned management&rsquo;s role in the impasse and their concerns are not without merit. Team harmony has suffered. An influx of talented players acquired in a late-season trade could help the Nordiques capture their first playoff spot since 1987. 2. Winning on the road. The Nordiques haven&rsquo;t won away from the Colisee since last March. 3. A balanced scoring attack. Joe Sakic continues to carry the load offensively, although Mats Sundin and Owen Nolan have had solid seasons. Russian right winger Valeri Kamensky will help.Hardware hopes: None.Needs: The Nordiques need help at all positions.Available: Bryan Fogarty, Ron Tugnutt.Trade talk: The Lindros rumor mill is working overtime although owner Marcel Aubut maintains Lindros will not be traded. A more realistic scenario would see New Jersey part with goalie Sean Burke for draft picks.Above and beyond: Nolan. After a disappointing rookie season, the 20-year-old right winger has matured. I He had 32 goals (48 points) in 58 games.Down and out: Tugnutt. The No. 1 goalie at the beginning of the season was demoted to the minors.NOTEBOOK: The Nordiques traded winger Jeff Jackson to Chicago Feb. 18 for veteran John Tonelli Pierre Page wanted a veteran&hellip; Russian right winger Valeri Kamensky made a strong debut Feb. 18 against Minnesota. He didn&rsquo;t score but created numerous scoring opportunities. &ldquo;You can see right off that he&rsquo;s going to star in the NHL,&rdquo; Page said.The Nordiques have admitted they will do everything in their power to bring Peter Statsny back to Quebec next season. The New Jersey Devil will become a free agent without compensation at the end of June.<h2>QUEBEC</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 18: Jeff Jackson, LW, traded to Chicago for John Toneill, LW. Feb. 19: Randy Velischek, D, recalled from Halifax (AHL). Feb. 22: Kip Miller. C, assigned to Halifax. Jon Klemm, D. and Andy Rymsha, D, recalled from Halifax<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Claude Lapointe, Jamie Baker. Marc Fortier.LW&mdash;Greg Paslawski, John Tonelli, Tony Twist, Valeri Kamensky, Doug Smail, Wayne Van Dorp.RW&mdash;Owen Nolan, Herti Raglan, Bill LindsayLD&mdash;Dan Lambert, Curtis Leschyshyn, Jon Klemm, Randy Velischek.RD&mdash;Atexei Gusarov, Craig Wolanin, Greg Smyth, Andy Rymsha.G&mdash;John Tanner, Stephane Fiset, Jacques Cloutier.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Steven Finn, D, sprained right wrist, indefinite. Adam Foote, D. fractured right thumb. Indefinite. Stephane Guerard, D, right knee surgery, indefinite. Mike Hough, LW, fractured left thumb, indefinite. Mike McNeill, C. separated right shoulder, indefinite. Mikhail Tatarinov, D, strained rib cage, indefinite. &#9632;

Glimmer of hope remains

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div>The Boston Bruins are hoping to go into the playoffs without any injuries. But with their history, they&rsquo;re certainly not counting on it.Four key Bruins had their seasons shortened by major surgery but were back or ready to return for the stretch run. Left winger Andy Brickley (rotator cuff) returned during the club&rsquo;s mid-February road swing while center Dave Poulin (abdomen) and defenseman Glen Featherstone (back) were expected back by late February. Cam Neely, the most important one, is expected to return from a knee injury in late March.Boston, headed for a first-round playoff date with Buffalo, hopes to use its last 20 games to work the returnees back into the lineup and set themselves up for the post-season.Pivotal factors: 1. Scoring on the wings. Wingers must be found for Adam Oates. He was obtained to work with Neely but the injury has scuttled that. 2. Goaltending. Andy Moog must stay healthy. Backup Daniel Berthiaume hasn&rsquo;t played Ibadly but Moog, Boston&rsquo;s undisputed No. 1 goalie, is second in on the club in importance only to Ray Bourque. 3. Neely&rsquo;s return. If he can come back from his latest setback, his intensity, toughness and scoring could make the difference.Hardware hopefuls: Ray Bourque, Norris.Needs: The Bruins would love to get their hands on a winger who can score goals.Available: Glen Wesley, Brickley, Brent Ashton and Bobby Carpenter.Trade talk: All is quiet on the trade front since the monster Craig Janney-Adam Oates deal. The Bruins may shop Canadian Olympic star Joe Juneau if they can&rsquo;t sign him.Above and beyond: Ruzicka. He has thrived with the increased ice time with 36 goals and 62 points in 60 games.Down and out: Ken Hodge. A 30-goal scorer as a rookie in 1990-91, he never recovered from a poor training camp and was sent to the minors.NOTEBOOK: Center Dave Poulin, out all season following abdominal surgery, planned to make his debut Feb. 27 against Toronto. Defenseman Glen Featherstone also planned to be back that night after a 51-game absence following back surgery.<h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Feb. 18: Ken Hodge, C, and Jack Capuano, D. assigned to Maine (AHL). Scott Amiel. LW, Barry Pederson, C, and Matt Hervey. D. recalled from Maine<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Vladimir Ruzicka, Adam Oates, Dave Reid, Barry Pederson.LW&mdash;Andy Brickley, Bob Carpenter, Lou Crawford, Scott Amiel.RW&mdash;Steve Leach, Brent Ashton, Lyndon Byers, Peter Douris. Chris Winnes.LD&mdash;Glen Wesley, Don Sweeney, Jim Wiemer.RD&mdash;Ray Bourque, Gord Murphy, Matt Hervey, Bob BeersG&mdash;Andy Moog, Daniel Berthiaume<h3>INJURIES</h3>Glen Featherstone, D, back surgery, day-to-day. Jeff Lazaro, LW, sprained right knee, indefinite. Reggie Lemelin, G. left hamstring, indefinite. Cam Neely, RW, left knee surgery, indefinite. Dave Poulin, C, abdominal surgery, day-to-day. Petr Prajsler, D, bruised right knee, indefinite. Bob Sweeney, RW, left knee surgery, indefinite. Dave Thomlinson, LW, back. Indefinite. Jim Vesey, C, shoulder right surgery, indefinite. &#9632;

Post-season chances hinge on getting, staying healthy

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div>The Buffalo Sabres have had three distinct identities this season and it&rsquo;s anyone&rsquo;s guess which one will show up for the remainder of the 1991-92 season.The Sabres started out as a conservative, close-checking team emblematic of the Montreal Canadiens, under coach Rick Dudley. They abandoned that style&mdash;and Dudley-in favor of an offensive, swift-skating unit under coach John Muckier.They have since adopted a new identity-a mistake-prone club devoid of top-flight goaltending and seemingly incapable of keeping the puck out of its own end.Muckier clearly wants the second unit&mdash;the one that finished with an 8-3-3 record record in January&mdash;to show up for the stretch run.Pivotal factors: I. Offensive balance. Center Pat LaFontaine is the comerstone of the franchise and is the main reason for the improved play of wingers Alexander Mogilny and Dave Andreychuk. But if the Sabres are to challenge for the Stanrley Cup, they&rsquo;ll need more offense from their second and third lines. 2. Forechecking ability. The Sabres are successful when they capitalize on turnovers in their opponents&rsquo; end. 3. Goaltending. Daren Puppa and Clint Malarchuk have been inconsistent at best.Hardware hopefuls: Donald Audette, Calder.Needs: A consistent No. I goalie and defensive-defenseman in the Mike Ramsey mold. A rugged winger with scoring ability to solidify the third line.Available: Christian Ruuttu, Andreychuk, Dale Hawerchuk, Puppa, Audette, Rick Vaive.Trade talk: The Sabres would like to obtain disgruntled New Jersey goaltender Sean Burke for Andreychuk, Hawerchuk or Audette.Above and beyond: LaFontaine. His scoring and skating ability were well-documented, but his ability to jump start Andreychuk and Mogilny has been an enormous plus.Down and out: Ruuttu. With just three goals and 20 points in 57games, he has been a major disappointment.NOTEBOOK: The Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; goaltending corps continued to struggle. With Daren Puppa and Clint Malarchuk proving to be ineffective, coach John Muckier started Tom Draper against the Edmonton Oilers Feb 23. But the former Winnipeg Jet faired no better, as the Sabres lost 5-2 to Muckier&rsquo;s former team, it was Draper&rsquo;s first start since Dec. 14 and came on the heels of a 6-5 loss at Vancouver, in which Draper replaced Puppa at the start of the second period. Draper entered the game with a 4-4-3 record and .905 save percentage.The Sabres were battered and bruised during their western swing. Center Colin Patterson rejoined the team in Edmonton but did not play. Defenseman Doug Bodger-blood behind the eye-returned from Hartford to Buffalo while the team was heading west and did not join them. Alexander Mogilny sustained a elbow injury in practice at Edmonton, but played against the Oilers. Veteran right winger Rick Vaive was also hurting with a strained groin muscle.<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pat LaFontaine, Date Hawerchuk, Dave Snuggerud. Christian RuuttuLW&mdash;Dave Andreychuk, Tony Tanti, Brad May, Rob Ray, Randy Wood.RW&mdash;Donaki Audette, Alex Mogilny, Bob Corkum, Gord DonnellyLD&mdash;Mike Ramsey, Grant Ledyard, Ken Sutton.RD&mdash;Randy Hillier, Kevin Halter, Jay WellsG&mdash;Daren Puppa, Clint Malarchuk, Tom Draper<h3>INJURIES</h3>Doug Bodger, D, blood behind the right eye, day-to-day. Rick Valve, RW. strained groin muscle, day-to-day. &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

March 6, 1992

Brief meeting a beginning to serious CBA negotiations

NHL PRO SET SPOTLIGHT

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

Russian Rocket fuels hopes