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November 17, 1995
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.
INSIDE HOCKEY
NHL attendance is either up in 15 cities or down in 14 cities very early in 1995-96. You decide. Either way, average league-wide attendance is largely unchanged over the past three years. Small crowds in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Miami, Buffalo, Hartford, Washington and Los Angeles suggest the NHL is experiencing attendance problems. But unofficial average attendance through 149 games was 15,272, down slightly from last season’s 15.486 and up marginally from the 1993-94 mark of 15,217. (See pg. 5 for team-by-team report.) Fifteen teams have higher average marks than two years ago, which the NHL says is the appropriate comparison point; the largest increase after Boston, where the Bruins are playing in a new and bigger building than the old Garden, is in Hartford, where the Whalers drew 15.2 per-cent more…
Dafoe sharp as starter
The emphasis was clearly on left winger Dimitri Khristich when the Los Angeles Kings traded their 1996 first-and fourth-round picks to the Washington Capitals on draft day last summer. Oh, and they were also getting goaltender Byron Dafoe. As it turns out, it would probably have been a case of ‘Oh, no’ if they hadn’t acquired Dafoe in the deal. Certainly no one could have anticipated starting goaltender Kelly Hrudey would be out for almost two months after suffering a partially tom ligament in his left ankle three days before training camp. Dafoe was thrust into the starting role and went 4-2-4. In consecutive starts, he faced a total of 107 shots, 58 in a 2-2 tie against the Toronto Maple Leafs Oct. 28 and 49 in a 5-3 victory over the New…
GREENBERG
Pittsburgh Penguins’ owner Howard Baldwin must be credited for his foresight. And we don’t mean for signing Joe Dziedzic. We’re talking big picture, here, one as huge as if the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers put all their guys in one group shot. When the Penguins took off for the safety of the Northeast Division three seasons back, they got out of the Atlantic while the getting was good. Sure, we know they cited other reasons for the shift, like a natural geographical rivalry with Ottawa. But when somebody had to make the switch to better balance the divisions, the Penguins had their hands up even faster than Tie Domi’s when the referee isn’t looking. It’s too damn tough in the Atlantic. Philly has Eric Lindros, the reigning MVP. The Devils have…
Lindros best in October
They gave Eric Lindros the player of the month award for October, but they could have thrown in a Purple Heart, too. The Philadelphia Flyers’ center got off to the NHL’s fastest start, leading all players in the month of October in scoring (21 points) and plus-minus at plus-14. But the 22-year-old captain also ranked high in shots taken-from chippy stuff while the puck was still moving to pushing and posturing after the whistle. The Flyers believe teams are trying to slow Lindros anyway they can. Because he is a physical player, with a penchant for some nasty play of his own, the 6-foot-4, 229-pound Lindros doesn’t seem to draw as many calls as the rest of the league’s superstars. And since he has been discouraged from fighting by management, Lindros has to resist the…
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