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.

November 3, 2000

The Hockey News November 3, 2000

<h2><b>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS</b></h2><p>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS</p><p>Statistics provided by National Hockey League; Players are listed by uniform number, name, games played <b>(GP).</b>minutes played <b>(Min),</b> goals-against average <b>(GAA),</b> wins <b>(W)</b>. losses<b>(L)</b>, ties <b>(T)</b>, empty-net goals <b>(EN)</b>. shutouts<b>(SO</b>), goals against <b>(GA),</b> shots against <b>(SA),</b> save percentage <b>(SP).</b> For goalies individual rankings see page 37.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01529/7957958-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="773" height="784"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02329/7957951-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="753" height="1000"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03258/7957944-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="772" height="988"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04221/7957937-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="757" height="1012"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0041-01

IN THIS ISSUE

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

<div class="byline">By Tom Wheatley</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011825/7955263-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>No. 1 Son</b>&nbsp;<i>Brett Hull figures to someday join papa Bobby in the Hall of Fame. No other fatherson playing combination has accomplished that feat in any of the four major pro sports.</i></figcaption></div><p>What&rsquo;s the best father-son act ever caught on ice? That&rsquo;s easy. Bobby and Brett Hull.</p><p>Now expand the question. What&rsquo;s the best father-son act among players in any sport? That&rsquo;s easy, too, at least in the non-motorizedsports division Bobby and Brett Hull. In fact, subtract racecar tandems &mdash; Mario and Michael Andretti, Richard and Kyle Petty and the Al Unsers, Sr. and Jr. &mdash; and the competition isn&rsquo;t even close.</p><p>Aside from playing on a Stanley Cup winner, Bobby and Brett each have won the Hart Trophy as most valuable player and have been perennial all-stars.</p><p>Three years ago, when The Hockey News picked the Top 100 NHL players of all-time, Bobby ranked No. 8 and Brett No. 64. Bobby, 61, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983. Brett, 36, is a shoo-in after his retirement.</p><p>In the four major team sports, no father-son player act can match the pedigree of the Hulls.</p><p>&ldquo;Who&rsquo;s better or who&rsquo;s the best?&rdquo; mused Brett, off to a strong start with Dallas.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s kind of hard to comment without sounding conceited. Just look at the elite company we&rsquo;re among.&rdquo;</p><p>In hockey, the competition starts with Gordie and Mark Howe. Gordie towers over his sport as one of the very best players of all-time. Mark was a distinguished defenseman, but not Hall of Fame caliber. Baseball offers Bobby Bonds and son Barry, plus Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. Pro football has a pair of talented, young, second-generation quarterbacks: Peyton Manning, son of former New Orleans Saints&rsquo; quarterback Archie Manning, and Brian Griese, son of Hall of Famer Bob Griese.</p><p>Pro basketball&rsquo;s best bet is Mike Bibby of the Vancouver Grizzlies and his father, Henry Bibby, a former NBAer.</p><p>In the mixed bag category, pro basketball star Grant Hill is the son of former football running back CalvinHill.</p><p>In comparing those elders, Brett said,&rdquo;I look at my dad and he stands up easily with any of them. And that&rsquo;s half the battle right there.&rdquo;</p><p>Except for Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull dwarfs all the other fathers in contention. The elder Hull is considered the top left winger of all-time, just as the elder Howe is considered the top right winger. No other father on the short list qualifies as the best at his job.</p><p>&ldquo;Then you have to decide how I fit in with the others,&rdquo; Brett said.&rdquo;I imagine you would pick Ken Griffey Jr. ahead of me, but I think you would put my dad ahead of his.&rdquo;</p><p>Ken Griffey Sr., along with the senior Bonds, fell far short of induction for the baseball Hall of Fame. With 75 per I cent of the votes needed for induction, Bobby Bonds reached as high as 11 per cent in 1993, while Griffey Sr. topped out at just under 5 per cent in 1997.</p><p>&ldquo;The seniors both enjoyed long, productive careers,&rdquo; said David Jones, a researcher at the baseball Hall of Fame.&rdquo;Compare that with their sons, two players I think who, if they retired right now, would be locks for the Hall of Fame.&rdquo;</p><p>As for football, the kid quarterbacks in the Manning and Griese families are barely three years into their promising careers.</p><p>Brett Hull feels a kinship with any player whose father was a sports star, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so hard to follow your dad,&rdquo; Brett said.&rdquo;To have to follow in the same sport when he was a Hall of Famer, there&rsquo;s a lot of pressure. It&rsquo;s not the pressure when you make it, it&rsquo;s getting there to make it. That&rsquo;s the hard part.&rdquo;</p><p>Which makes the Hull family album so remarkable. Bobby ranks 10th in NHL history with 610 goals and was a Stanley Cup winner with Chicago. Brett Hull, who was tied with his father in goal-scoring entering this season, is now at No. 8 with 614 goals through Oct. 19.</p><p>Former Blues&rsquo; GM Ron Caron, a THN Top 100 selector, closely followed the careers of both superstars and thinks Brett would move up from No. 64 after scoring the Cup-winning goal for Dallas in 1998 and leading playoff scorers last year.&rdquo;The experts would see things differently now,&rdquo; Caron said.</p><p>When it comes to being outspoken, the apple didn&rsquo;t fall far from the Hull family tree. That&rsquo;s why, when it comes to fathers and sons, Brett makes only one claim for himself and his sire:&rdquo;We&rsquo;re the loudest, that&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;</p><p><i><b>- with a file from Chuck Carlton</b></i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021551/7955256-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="889" height="2053"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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DEPARTMENTS

Hull dynasty tops in sports

<h2><b>Coulter dies</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>rt Coulter, captain of the New York Rangers&rsquo; 1940 Stanley Cup championship team, died Oct. 14 in Mobile, Ala. The sturdy defenseman played 11 NHL seasons with Chicago and the Rangers and was known as a punishing hitter and shotblocker. A favorite at Madison Square Garden, Coulter scored 30 goals and 112 points in 465 games and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974. The Winnipeg native was 92.</p><h2><b>Half-million mark</b></h2><p>Membership in USA Hockey this season has passed the 500,000 plateau for the first time ever. A total of 513,750 players, coaches and officials are registered, an increase of 3.5 per cent over last season. Michigan ranks No. 1 among states with more than 65,000 members, followed by New York (52,000) and Minnesota (51,000). Female membership has increased significantly to 37,028 this season. Nine years ago the figure was 6,336.</p><h2><b>Player buys club</b></h2><p>France St. Louis, one of the greatest players in women&rsquo;s hockey history, has bought into a team in the National Women&rsquo;s League. The 42-year-old Montrealer owns an interest in the Montreal Wingstars, one of nine teams in the NWHL. A member of Canada&rsquo;s national women&rsquo;s program since its inception in 1987, St. Louis scored the winning goal in the opener and recruited the services of famed goalie Manon Rheaume, now a winger.</p><h2><b>Line on 2001</b></h2><p>Russian left winger Ilya Kovalchuk has grabbed top spot in an independent scouting review of the 2001 NHL entry draft. The <i>Red Line Report</i> said Kovalchuk, a skilled 17-year-old with Spartak, has added one inch and 20 pounds to his big frame. He took over top spot from Halifax goalie Pascal Leclaire, who slipped to No. 5. Mississauga center Jason Spezza is No. 2 and Plymouth center Stephen Weiss No. 3.</p><h2><b>Howling mad</b></h2><p>It didn&rsquo;t cost them the game, but the Phoenix Coyotes were still mad about Glen Murray&rsquo;s controversial goal in a 6-5 win in Los Angeles Oct. 15. Murray&rsquo;s shot tore through a hole in the left side of the net, but even after video review, the goal was allowed. Jim Christison, the NHL supervisor of officials at the game, admitted,&rdquo;We might have made a mistake.&rdquo; The NHL said it disciplined Christison and the video review official for the blown call.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

INSIDE REPORT

<div class="byline">- Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011507/7955874-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="210" height="246"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>t age 37, following an injury that left him temporarily paralyzed and needing a spinal fusion, Flames&rsquo; defenseman Steve Smith is back in the starting lineup.</p><p>After missing the first three games of the season, Smith was activated for the team&rsquo;s first win, 2-0 over the New York Islanders Oct. 14.</p><p>Smith is playing with his left wrist tightly taped to stabilize it because the numbness that kept him on the sidelines throughout training camp had not completely disappeared.</p><p>&ldquo;I just wasn&rsquo;t ready to stop if I didn&rsquo;t have to,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo;And I&rsquo;m no more at risk than anybody else in here.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Smith&rsquo;s return and an injury to Denis Gauthier caused coach Don Hay to juggle his defensive alignment. With Derek Morris still unsigned, Hay moved Smith beside Phil Housley and put Tommy Albelin with Brad Werenka. The quartet has an average age of 35 and combines for 55 years of NHL experience.</p><p>The Flames ended a three-game losing skid by reeling off a pair of victories, with their new-old defense corps prominently leading the way.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Hay moved Jeff Shantz back to center, on a line with Valeri Bure, who hadn&rsquo;t scored in six games, after leading the team in scoring last season. Bure was getting bounced around like a rag doll in some games and clearly was not 100 per-cent healthy.</p><p>Cory Stillman stayed at center, between two checkers, Dave Lowry and Niklas Andersson, but he got untracked early, as did Lowry.</p><p>The only line intact featured rookie Oleg Saprykin on the top unit with Jarome Iginla and Marc Savard. Saprykin is only 19, though, and the Flames will need to determine whether they want to keep him or return him to junior.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Right winger <b>Ronald Petrovicky</b> may need wrist surgery and could miss up to two months&hellip;Defenseman <b>Denis Gauthier</b> has a badly bruised wrist that could sideline him for a month. The injury occurred in a fight with defenseman <b>Jamie Pushor</b>of Columbus&hellip;Center <b>Marty Murray&rsquo;s</b> hip injury was not considered serious and he was expected to play soon&hellip; Goaltender <b>Mike Vernon&rsquo;s</b> first win of the season was also the 372nd of his career, moving him into a tie with <b>Andy Moog</b> on the all-time wins list.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

NHL TEAM REPORTS

Smith’s return gives Flames huge boost

<div class="byline">Steve Dryden Editor-In-Chief</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011601/7955180-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Horizontal hold</b>&nbsp;<i>San Jose&rsquo;s Todd Harvey doesn&rsquo;t normally take things lying down, but doesn&rsquo;t have much choice against this Boston opponent.</i></figcaption></div><h2><b>Editor&rsquo;s Notebook</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021350/7955173-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="298" height="349"></div><p>Mr. Goalie&rsquo;s choice for Mr. Goalie apparently isn&rsquo;t Patrick Roy, so it would seem utter foolishness to argue the point.</p><p>That has never stopped me before.</p><p>Glenn Hall, nicknamed Mr. Goalie en route to earning a record 11 berths on NHL all-star teams during the 1950s and &rsquo;60s, has said Terry Sawchuk is the greatest goalie ever.</p><p>And he may be right. But Patrick Roy may well have the greatest record.</p><p>With his 448th victory Oct. 17, Roy became the NHL&rsquo;s winningest goalie for a second time. He did it previously when he passed Grant Fuhr on the all-time playoff victory list. Roy has 121 career postseason wins.</p><p>One record that will surely elude Roy is for most Stanley Cups by a goalie. It is shared by Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante, each with six. Roy has three, and while the Avalanche is an early favorite to win the 2001 Cup and the 35-year-old goalie seems far from retirement, it is a remote possibility that he will catch the two legends in a bloated 30-team league.</p><p>Nonetheless, Roy&rsquo;s Stanley Cup total deserves an asterisk. Since the NHL began recognizing the playoffs&rsquo; best performer in 1965, no puckstopper has played a bigger part in two championship efforts. One maybe, but not two. Dryden&rsquo;s 1971 sublime performance against Boston propelled underdog Montreal against Bobby Orr&rsquo;s Big, Bad Bruins and onto the Cup. For that, Dryden received the Conn Smythe Trophy But in none of his other five championships did Dryden play such an essential role.</p><p>Bernie Parent is the only other goalie to win two Conn Smythes, but his supporting cast on Philadelphia was just as much of the story in 1974 and 1975. In both seasons, the Flyers challenged for regular season supremacy before winning the playoff title.</p><p>Roy, meanwhile, didn&rsquo;t have the support of extraordinary teammates and was clearly the central reason Montreal won its 22nd (1986) and 23rd (1993) NHL championships. The Canadiens finished 32 and 17 points behind the regular season champs, respectively They benefited from good paths along the Stanley Cup trail, but Roy still paved the way.</p><p>Roy did it in the most spectacular fashion in 1993 when he won 10 straight games in overtime, an NHL record that doesn&rsquo;t have the same resonance as Terry Sawchuk&rsquo;s 103 career shutouts or Glenn Hall&rsquo;s 502 consecutive games. Nor Roy&rsquo;s own 448 victories.</p><p>But it&rsquo;s a magic number, nonetheless, and representative of a magical playoff record.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0002-01

Fullness of superstar’s record stuff of goaltending legends

<h2><b>Quinn lets officials have it</b></h2><p><i><u>Here are the top five NHL ref-baiters</u></i></p><p>NHL officials follow a time-honored tradition in golf &mdash; they provide for one mulligan before coming down hard on coaches who harass them during games.</p><p>The second time coaches show up officials, they&rsquo;ll usually get nailed with a bench minor called by either the referees or linesmen.</p><p>&ldquo;Most coaches are professional most of the time,&rdquo; said one NHL ref. Ref-baiting, however, is as much a tactic for some coaches as matching lines. Here are the top five most frequent ref-baiters, according to our ref:</p><p>1. <b>Pat Quinn</b>, Toronto. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t try to hide the fact he baits refs. His gestures are sometimes considered unprofessional.&rdquo;</p><p><b>2.Ron Wilson</b>. Washington.&rdquo;He waits until the rink is quiet and then he lets you have it with that squeaky voice his.&rdquo;</p><p><b>3.Bob Hartley</b>Colorado.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s fine when He&rsquo;s winning, but when he&rsquo;s not, he, goes after the junior referee.&rdquo;</p><p>4. <b>Ron Low</b>, Rangers.&rdquo;He does a lot of barking, looking for the next call.&rdquo;</p><p>5. <b>Terry Murray</b>, Florida.&rdquo;Gets a little <i>woe is me</i> when his team is losing.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>America&rsquo;s new young phenom</b></h2><p><i><u>Danny Fritsche making waves for Cleveland Juniors</u></i></p><p>A prodigiously talented 15-year-old is causing a stir in Cleveland.</p><p><b>Danny Fritsche</b>, a 6-foot-l, 192-pound center with the Cleveland Jr. Barons of the North American Jr. League, had three goals, 10 points and 18 penalty minutes in his first 11 games this season.</p><p>The swift-skating pivot has done more than produce points, he has produced memories.</p><p>In one game against Detroit, said the Barons&rsquo; <b>Tim Alexander,</b>&rdquo;(Fritsche) was killing a penalty and he had two veteran defenders all over him, but he shook them off and scored on a breakaway. It&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Wow, how does he do that?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Fritsche is eligible for the 2003 NHL entry draft and is leaning toward playing in the Ontario League next season. He is eligible for the 2001 OHL draft.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011879/7955225-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="300" height="368"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Danny Fritsche</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>Robitaille just keeps on scoring</b></h2><p><i><u>Kings&rsquo; gunner makes small changes in his game</u></i></p><p>Luc Robitaille might be getting a little long in the tooth, but one reason for his continued success is the fact he is getting short in his stride.</p><p>The Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; 34-year-old left winger said a change in his skating style has enabled him to keep up with many of the league&rsquo;s youngsters.</p><p>&ldquo;As you get older you have to make adjustments,&rdquo; Robitaille said.&rdquo;A few years ago I started to train harder and watch what I eat and now I&rsquo;ve shortened my stride, which has added a little quickness.&rdquo;</p><p>The 15-year NHL veteran was off to a typically fast start this season with six goals and 12 points in eight games. Robitaille, a seven-time all-star and three-time 50-goal scorer, ranks ninth all-time among 500-goal scorers with a .532 goals-per-game average.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021504/7955218-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1681" height="2530"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Luc Robitaille</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>THN ONE-TIMERS</b></h2><p><b><i><u>NHL teams, former leaders not accountable for Eagleson</u></i></b></p><p>Retired NHL players have struck out a second time in their effort to get an American court to rule that 22 NHL teams and league executives knew <b>Alan Eagleson</b> was skimming profits from 11, Canada Cup advertising and did nothing to stop him.</p><p>A federal appeals court in Philadelphia announced Oct. 18 it agreed with a lower court&rsquo;s decision that the 22 NHL teams (those prior to the 1993-94 expansion), former NHL president <b>John Ziegler</b> and <b>Bill Wirtz</b>, former chairman of the NHL board of governors, were not accountable for the actions of Eagleson, the former head of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association who served six months in jail for fraud.</p><p><b>Marty Oberman</b>, the Chicago lawyer representing the players, said he and other attorneys were reviewing the ruling and hadn&rsquo;t decided whether to appeal. The suit alleged the owners of the hockey teams, through Ziegler and Wirtz, conspired with Eagleson to operate a management-dominated union.</p><p><b>THE NUMBERS GAME</b> Since<b>Steve Heinze</b> of Columbus is now wearing No. 57, THN recommends <b>Miroslav Satan</b> wear No. 666, <b>Jamie Storr</b>, 7-11, and <b>Kelly Buchberger</b>, $1&hellip;Before he hurt his knee, Ottawa goalie <b>Patrick Lalime</b> beat three of the league&rsquo;s top stoppers &mdash; <b>Ed Belfour</b> of Dallas, <b>MartinBrodeur</b> of New Jersey and <b>Curtis Joseph</b> of Toronto &mdash; and tied Boston&rsquo;s <b>Byron Dafoe</b> in his first four games&hellip;<b>Robbie Ftorek</b>, who was fired late last season as coachby the champion-to-be New Jersey Devils yet still got his name on the Stanley Cup, remains with the organization as a special assignments scout&hellip;Remarkably, <b>JaromirJagr&rsquo;s</b> four-goal performance in Pittsburgh&rsquo;s 8-6 win overthe Rangers Oct. 14 was the first of his career, The active leader is <b>Peter Bondra</b>, who has four four-goal games and a five-goal effort to his credit. And <b>Mark Messier</b>, who was in the Rangers&rsquo; lineup, also knows the four-goal feeling &mdash; like Bondra, he has had it four times.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03961/7955211-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="416" height="522"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Patirck Lalime</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0003-01

POWER PLAY

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06493/7955322-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="358" height="662"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Donald Audette</b></figcaption></div><h2><i>The Best of the Hockey World</i></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031260/7955343-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="92" height="35"></div><p><b>ST. PATRICK&rsquo;S DAY</b> Patrick Roy surpasses Terry Sawchuk with his 448th win to become the NHL&rsquo;s all-time winningest goaltender.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-041022/7955336-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="93" height="35"></div><p><b>THRASHING ABOUT</b> Atlanta&rsquo;s veteran rightwinger Donald Audette gets points on seven of the Thrashers&rsquo; first nine goals this season.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05829/7955329-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="93" height="35"></div><p><b>MASON HONORED</b> The CCHA names its championship trophy after Michigan State&rsquo;s Ron Mason, college hockey&rsquo;s winningest coach.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><i>The Worst of the Hockey World</i></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-07315/7955315-1-eng-US/f0004-072.jpg" title="f0004-07" width="94" height="35"></div><p><b>NO SENSE OF HISTORY</b> Washington responds with a yawn to hockey history in the making. Only 13,335 fans show up for Patrick Roy&rsquo;s win No. 448.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-08212/7955308-1-eng-US/f0004-082.jpg" title="f0004-08" width="94" height="35"></div><p><b>ZZ CHOP</b> Buffalo defenseman Alexei Zhitnik and Washington forward Richard Zednik receive four-game suspensions for stick infractions.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-09182/7955301-1-eng-US/f0004-092.jpg" title="f0004-09" width="94" height="35"></div><p><b>BOULERICE BANNED</b> Philadelphia&rsquo;s Jesse Boulerice is suspended six AHL games for leaving the bench to fight.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-10129/7955294-1-eng-US/f0004-102.jpg" title="f0004-10" width="350" height="674"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Alexei Zhitnik</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0004-06

PLUS MINUS

<p>Legendary goaltender Terry Sawchuk wasn&rsquo;t as good at spotting trends as he was at setting them.</p><p>During his Hall of Fame career, Sawchuk was credited with pioneering the crouch position and held the all-time wins record for 30 years, until Patrick Roy got No. 448.</p><p>But in 1959-60, the season in which Jacques Plante started using a mask, Sawchuk told The Hockey News the revolutionary piece of protective gear was simply a fad.</p><p>&ldquo;Just because Jacques Plante wears a mask, some people figure that makes a big difference,&rdquo; said Sawchuk, then a member of the Detroit Red Wings.&rdquo;But Plante is a good goalie&hellip;not because of a mask.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021294/7955374-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="232" height="280"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Terry Sawchuk</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been a pro goalie for more than a dozen years and I&rsquo;ve never worn a mask in a game. I don&rsquo;t see any reason for starting now.&rdquo;</p><p>Montreal&rsquo;s Plante, who had been experimenting with the mask, donned it for good after absorbing an Andy Bathgate blast to the face in a game against the Rangers. Boston goalie Don Simmons joined him as a mask-wearer later in 1959-60.</p><p>Sawchuk, meanwhile, became the third goalie to use a mask in 1962-63.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-02

Legendary Sawchuk said goalie mask wouldn’t last

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012038/7955429-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>Penalties give game energy</b></h2><p>I would like to congratulate Andy van Hellemond and his staff of officials.</p><p>For years, the NHL has had problems when it came to obstruction, but that will stop with the new crackdown. Players will soon realize what won&rsquo;t be tolerated and superstars such as Jaromir Jagr, Mike Modano and Pavel Bure will get the room they need to bring fans out of their seats.</p><p>And there&rsquo;s a bonus to the crackdown: The number of quality scoring chances on the power plays. The great saves and action that I&rsquo;ve witnessed on power plays this season have been outstanding. The saves that Patrick Roy and Ed Belfour made while shorthanded in the season opener were great. And when the Rangers and Canadiens got together, Kirk McLean and Jeff Hackett were brilliant while a man short.</p><p>Hockey has always been the greatest game. And with more power plays, fans are going to see 60 awesome minutes every game.</p><p><i>Bill Garfield, Hanover, N.H.</i></p><h3><b>Small victory</b></h3><p>I&rsquo;m happy to see 5-foot-9 Marty Murray back with Calgary after a two-year hiatus in Europe.</p><p>Hats off to Flames&rsquo; GM Craig Button and coach Don Hay for giving him a chance. It&rsquo;s good to see the NHL seeking players with skill, rather than just size.</p><p>I hope other teams start considering smaller players with speed, playmaking ability and hockey sense. I&rsquo;m tired of watching big guys who can hardly skate plug up the ice with their trap defense and dump-and-chase offense.</p><p>Hopefully, the game will one day return to&rdquo;old-time hockey,&rdquo; featuring skilled Canadians and exciting Europeans.</p><p><i>John Sinclair,</i></p><p><i>Edmonton</i></p><h3><b>Bigger, not better</b></h3><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to fool you again!&rdquo; This is the message I&rsquo;m getting from Toronto coach-GM Pat Quinn and the Leafs. Sure, they&rsquo;re tougher up front, but they didn&rsquo;t address the areas where they&rsquo;re most lacking: Special teams, depth on defense and backup goaltending.</p><p><i>George McPhee,</i></p><p><i>Sydney, N.S</i></p><h2><b>Past stars deserve Hall home</b></h2><p>Have you ever reflected on who is <i>not</i> in the Hockey Hall of Fame? There are many worthy stars of yesteryear who deserve to be in, but have been left out.</p><p>The following Montreal Canadiens were invaluable to the storied franchise in the 1950s and &rsquo;60s and belong in the Hall: Defenseman Jean-Guy Talbot, whose 17-year career included seven Stanley Cups; defensive center Ralph Backstrom, who won six Cups over 17 years; Backstrom&rsquo;slinemate, right winger Claude Provost, who excelled at both ends of the ice and won nine Cups in 15 years; and, defenseman J.C. Tremblay, who earned five Cups in 13 years.</p><p>And these are a but small sample of players from the past who need to be properly honored. My point is, the Hall is meant to remember all of hockey&rsquo;s best, not just the Wayne Gretzkys and GordieHowes.</p><p><i>Derrick Colleaux,</i></p><p><i>Medicine Hat, Alta.</i></p><h3><b>Captain Chris to the rescue</b></h3><p>Chris Pronger became my new hero when he jumped off the bench to defend St. Louis teammate PavolDemitra from Los Angeles&rsquo; Kelly Buchberger.</p><p>No punishment the NHL &mdash; or any outside party, say, a Vancouver court &mdash; has ever handed out comes close to the message Pronger sent by his actions. A one-game suspension? OK, those are the rules, but he deserves a medal to polish while he sits.</p><p>Knowing that 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds of Blue is going to hit you like a freight train if you attack one of his teammates should make opponents think twice.</p><p>How about Pronger for NHL commissioner?</p><p><i>Brenda Crowell,</i></p><p><i>Williamsport, Pa.</i></p><h3><b>Unimpressed with Mess</b></h3><p>Mark Messier is the greatest leader in sports?</p><p>Not in my book. He failed to deliver in Vancouver and then bolted for the Rangers before he could use his so-called great leadership skills on the Sedin twins. A true leader would have stayed in Vancouver and helped rebuild the Canucks rather than opt for New York, where there&rsquo;s a better supporting cast &mdash; and less pressure on him to produce offensively.</p><p><i>Svend Eibich,</i></p><p><i>Saskatoon, Sask.</i></p><h2><b>Too many tattoos, not enough Cups</b></h2><p>My mother warned me that I would regret getting a tattoo. And now I have no Stanley Cup, no Eric Lindros, and, soon, no John LeClair (by this time next year, anyway). But at least I have the lovely Flyers&rsquo; logo emblazoned on my back. Forever. I hate it when my mother is right.</p><p><i>Heidi Sheets,</i></p><p><i>Milton, Pa.</i></p><p>If Marty McSorley and all the other NHLers are so accurate with their sticks, as the judge in McSorley&rsquo;s case said, why aren&rsquo;t there more 50-goal scorers?</p><p><i>Troy Truax,</i></p><p><i>Dawson Creek, B.C.</i></p><p>I would like to appeal to the NHL to stop the bleeding now &mdash; the league today is a disgrace. I miss the glory days of Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky, when the game had lots of talent, passion, goals, excitement and rivalries. How did the once-great NHL descend into the circus it is now?</p><p><i>Alexander Williams,</i></p><p><i>Vancouver</i></p><p>How can a player ranked eighth in the NHL in goals and 16th in points last year not make THN&rsquo;s Top 50? His name is Luc Robitaille and he also holds the single-season record for goals by a left winger (63 in 1992-93). He&rsquo;ll be among the scoring leaders again this season; I only hope he makes THN&rsquo;s Top 50 next season.</p><p><i>Denis Carolin,</i></p><p><i>Sonora, Calif.</i></p><h3><b>READERS&rsquo; ONE-TIMERS</b></h3><p>This is your spot for quick comments on current hockey events. Reader&rsquo;s One-Timers accepts opinions of 60 words or less, so please be concise.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-01

LETTER OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy, Senior Writer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011846/7955474-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="268" height="376"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Alexei Yashin</b></figcaption></div><p>Besides Alexei Yashin being out $3.6 million, not much has changed for the talented center and the Ottawa Senators.</p><p>In fact, other than being booed at home whenever he touches the puck &mdash; and that, too, will fade &mdash; you would never know he held out last season in a bitter contract dispute. He looks very much like the same player who, when last seen on NHL ice, was a finalist for the Hart Trophy as the league&rsquo;s most valuable player.</p><p>OK, so he&rsquo;s no longer the captain of the Senators. Big deal. He&rsquo;s still their best player and best bet for a long playoff run. The 26-year-old Russian was supposed to be rusty after taking a year off, but it doesn&rsquo;t show &mdash; he&rsquo;s out of the gates with three goals and seven points through six games.</p><p>It&rsquo;s the start of the year and I&rsquo;m working very hard,&rdquo; Yashin said.&rdquo;Some people think it will take me a while to get my timing, but I&rsquo;m not sure about that. I feel fine right now. The team has played well and that&rsquo;s what counts.&rdquo;</p><p>Yashin has been a controversial figure off the ice. He has this nasty habit of signing a contract and then, a year or three later, demanding a renegotiation. And there was the embarrassing matter of taking back most of a $1million donation he made to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa a couple of years ago.</p><p>On the ice, though, it&rsquo;s a different story. He&rsquo;s a blossoming superstar, who was a candidate for the Hart in 1998-99 when he was sixth in league scoring with 44 goals and 94 points in 82 games.</p><p>Did you really think he&rsquo;d be treated as anything but a star upon his return?</p><p>Yashin centers the Senators&rsquo; top line, skating between left winger Shawn McEachern and right winger Marian Hossa. He takes faceoffs at critical times and is sent out to help his team defend leads in the dying moments of close games. Add to that the fact the Senators are off to a brilliant start, with wins over New Jersey, Dallas and Toronto and a tie with Boston, and it&rsquo;s easy to understand why Yashin&rsquo;s return has been a smooth transition.</p><p>The happiest guy in Ottawa upon Yashin&rsquo;sreturn no matter how reluctant it was &mdash; was Senators&rsquo; coach Jacques Martin. Coaches tend to avoid the politics of player contracts; their careers live and die with wins and losses. And having Yashin back virtually guarantees Martin more wins.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021229/7955467-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="1084" height="1750"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Alexei Yashin is answering fans&rsquo; barbs on the ice.</i></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a skilled player; a dominant player,&rdquo; Martin said.&rdquo;If the other team keys on him, then it frees up (Radek) Bonk and (Vaclav) Prospal to score. Alexei gives us depth.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03755/7955460-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="272" height="374"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Jaques Martin</b></figcaption></div><p>Yashin had a so-so outing in the season opener against Boston, but was superb in the next two games at home against Dallas and New Jersey. He was sent out late in both games with the Senators protecting the lead and, after getting the puck, latched onto it like it was the contract extension he wanted so badly. He wouldn&rsquo;t let it go and even managed to turn some of the boos into cheers.</p><p>Fans can boo him until they&rsquo;re blue in the face. You hear players say they don&rsquo;t care what the fans think or yell. Most of the time, they&rsquo;re lying. Not Yashin. He is as unaffected by the fans&rsquo; negative reaction as one could possibly be.</p><p>&ldquo;I keep focused on the game,&rdquo; Yashin said.&rdquo;Fans pay to get into the game, they can do whatever they want. Hey, it&rsquo;s a free country.&rdquo;</p><p>Yashin&rsquo;s contract status has been put on the backburner tor now. borne believe the Senators will trade him before they have to go to war with him on a contract again in the summer. Others wonder.</p><p>&ldquo;This team has great chemistry,&rdquo; said Sens&rsquo; defenseman Jason York.&rdquo;I don&rsquo;t know if they should fool with that.&rdquo;</p><p>You could make a case the Senators&rsquo; refusal to trade Yashin last season cost the team a shot atthe Stanley Cup. Without him, Ottawa placed second in the Northeast Division, 10th overall, then bowed out in the first round of the playoffs in six games to Toronto. With the assets a Yashin trade could have realized, the Senators would have been better fortified for a longer post-season run.</p><p>But the organization decided it was more important to send a message to its players, present and future, that it will not capitulate to appease the interests of those wishing to relocate to a larger market.</p><p>Ottawa GM Marshall Johnston knows he&rsquo;ll have to deal with Yashin&rsquo;s contract status eventually. Any chance the Senators can afford to keep him?</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll do the best we can to keep our best players,&rdquo; Johnston said.&rdquo;And obviously he&rsquo;s one of them.&rdquo;</p><p>Yashin&rsquo;s take on the whole contract thing?</p><p>&ldquo;I said I wanted a long-term deal, but they didn&rsquo;t want to do it,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo;I don&rsquo;t know what will happen now. I can&rsquo;t control the future.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0007-01

FEATURES

‘Fans pay to set in…they can do whatever they want’-Yashin

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy, Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011926/7955505-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Marian Gaborik scored Minnesota&rsquo;s first goal and first game-winner.</i></figcaption></div><p>Jacques Lemaire doesn&rsquo;t normally laugh when his players shirk their defensive duties.</p><p>But the coach of the expansion Minnesota Wild gets downright giddy when he speaks about the first time he saw 18-year-old rookie left winger Marian Gaborik in action this year, strutting his stuff in scrimmage games.</p><p>&ldquo;It was something to see,&rdquo; said Lemaire with a chuckle.&rdquo;He would be waiting at the other team&rsquo;s blueline when the puck was in his team&rsquo;s end. He was always looking for the two-line pass. I sat him down and told him, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re a very talented player, but if you don&rsquo;t start coming back to help in your own end, you won&rsquo;t be playing in the NHL this season.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Added Wild GM Doug Risebrough:&rdquo;Jacques would get all excited when Marian would take the puck and blow past guys. Then he&rsquo;d get all filled with anxiety when Marian wouldn&rsquo;t come back on defense.&rdquo;</p><p>The young Slovak got the message. He is one of four first-rounders from last June&rsquo;s draft playing in the NHL this season &mdash; Rostislav Klesla of Columbus, Scott Hartnell of Nashville and Justin Williams of Philadelphia are the others.</p><p>It was Gaborik&rsquo;s offensive instincts that attracted the Wild, but it&rsquo;s his commitment to learn how to play the game at both ends of the rink that keeps him with the team.</p><p>&ldquo;At the beginning it was a little difficult because of the red line,&rdquo; Gaborik said.&rdquo;I was not used to it. Last year I played in the Slovakian League and the red line was not used. But after a while, it&rsquo;s OK. I played against men the past two years. Here it is faster, but you get used to it.&rdquo;</p><p>The Wild knew about Gaborik&rsquo;s defensive deficiencies when they picked him third overall last June. But when you&rsquo;re an expansion team desperate for offense, you take what you can get. And Gaborik&rsquo;s offensive upside was irresistible.</p><p>&ldquo;Every team in the league seems to need offense,&rdquo; Risebrough said.&rdquo;And I knew nobody was going to give us any. We knew he&rsquo;d need work on his defense.&rdquo;</p><p>Aside from his speed and creativity, Gaborik has exhibited surprising toughness and a willingness to pay the price to score. He notched the first goal in Wild history against Anaheim Oct. 6, but it was his second goal, against Philadelphia Oct. 11, where he showed the moxy that has management licking its chops.</p><p>Gaborik stood his ground in front of the Flyers&rsquo; net during a Wild power play and backhanded home a rebound &mdash; all the while absorbing a pounding.</p><p>&ldquo;It takes two things for an 18-year-old to play in the NHL,&rdquo; said Lemaire, who coached another in his career, defenseman Petr Svoboda with Montreal in 1984.&rdquo;One is size. A player that young has to be able to compete physically against men. No. 2 is he has to have a lot of talent. If not, why would an organization keep such a young kid around when he could be developing in another league?</p><p>&ldquo;He has to be able to take a job away from an older player based on his talent&rsquo;. We felt it was best for Marian to play with us rather than put him in the minors with guys who might not be able to keep up with him.&rdquo;</p><p>Gaborik (pronounced GABBER-ick) was ranked fourth by the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Service, but chosen third overall behind goalie Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders and left winger Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers. The 6-foot-l, 185-pounder played with Trencin of the Slovakian League the past two years against men &mdash; and scored 25 goals and 47 points last season.</p><p>He has also had some success on the international scene, scoring three goals in six games for Slovakia as a 16-year-old at the 1999 World Junior Championship and three more goals at the 2000 WJC.</p><p>Lemaire has juggled his lines in the early going, but Gaborik has spent a lot of time playing with two veterans &mdash; winger Scott Pellerin and center Jim Dowd &mdash; scoring four goals in six games and averaging 14:15 of ice time.</p><p>The Wild said Gaborik would remain with the team as long as he was contributing, but if his play slips, they won&rsquo;t hesitate to send him down.</p><p>&ldquo;It won&rsquo;t be like a demotion,&rdquo; Risebrough said.&rdquo;It would be more like an addition to his development.&rdquo;</p><p>Gaborik isn&rsquo;t worried. In fact, he&rsquo;s confident he&rsquo;s in the NHL to stay, saying:&rdquo;I think it&rsquo;s possible for me to score 20 goals this year.&rdquo; &#9633;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-01

Gifted Gaborik a Wild sight

<div class="byline">By Alan Adams</div><p>NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will decide whether disgraced enforcer Marty McSorley can return to the league.</p><p>McSorley is still under indefinite suspension after striking Vancouver&rsquo;s Donald Brashear in the head with a two-handed swing of his stick last season. The 37-year-old unrestricted free agent was found guilty of assault with a weapon in a Vancouver court in early October.</p><p>A meeting between McSorley and Bettman has been scheduled, but no details were available. The NHL suspended McSorley for the final 23 games of the 19992000 season and Bettman said a hearing would be required before he would consider letting McSorley play again.</p><p>It&rsquo;s not known if McSorley has any NHL offers. There was speculation he may join a pro team in England, where his brother, Chris, is coaching.</p><p>McSorley&rsquo;s agent, Mike Barnett, was not available for comment. Barnett was busy making his own headlines. He decided not to accept Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s reported invitation to become the Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; GM and will remain a player agent with IMG.</p><p>With Gretzky set to become a part-owner of the Coyotes, they were forced to act because of speculation over Barnett&rsquo;s integrity and reports the NHL Players&rsquo; Association was considering revoking his certification over a conflict of interest.</p><p>&ldquo;He just told me,&rdquo; said Gretzky to the <i>Globe and Mail,</i>&rdquo;he feels better doing what he&rsquo;s doing &mdash; staying on and running the hockey division of IMG. And that&rsquo;s great.&rdquo;</p><p>Barnett and Gretzky have been friends for 21 years. Gretzky still has endorsement deals and once he takes control of the Coyotes, he and Barnett will ask the NHL and the NHLPA if and how their relationship could continue.</p><p>There is precedent. Tom Reich represented Mario Lemieux before he became an owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Reich still does some work for Lemieux and the NHLPA is looking into whether there is a conflict.</p><p>Barnett supporters were angered over reports that rival agents questioned some of his recent contracts, suggesting they weighed in on management&rsquo;s side more than the player and the good of the NHLPA.</p><p>&ldquo;I felt badly he was being questioned about integrity,&rdquo; Gretzky said.</p><p>&ldquo;Do I have any questions about Michael Barnett&rsquo;s integrity? None,&rdquo; said Don Baizley, one of the I most respected agents in the business.</p><p>Barnett has been one of the most aggressive agents the last few years and his client list includes JaromirJagr, Mats Sundin, Brett Hull and the Sedin twins.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad he has made that we decision,&rdquo; said NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow.&rdquo;I would have respected his decision no matter what it might have been.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011784/7955560-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="769" height="1120"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mark Deyell</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0009-01

McSorley seeks return; Barnett sticks with agency

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><p>Mark Deyell has beaten himself up enough, so he&rsquo;s no longer asking,&rdquo;Why?&rdquo;</p><p>From the beginning, when the blade of MiloslavGuren&rsquo;s stick slammed into his right eye during an American League playoff game in April, 1999, Deyell kept wondering why he ever decided to play pro hockey without a visor.</p><p>&ldquo;Especially after the numbers (61 goals, 159 points for Saskatoon in 1995-96) I put up in junior wearing one,&rdquo; said Deyell, who sees blurry objects in the damaged eye, in which his vision is20/300th.</p><p>&ldquo;But you get to camp and there&rsquo;s a helmet there waiting for you and it doesn&rsquo;t have a visor. It&rsquo;s a Canadian thing. You feel timid to go ask the equipment guy for one. But instead of not having a visor, they should all have one and then you decide if you don&rsquo;t want to wear it.&rdquo;</p><p>Deyell has a new question for himself: What can he do to spread that message further?</p><p>Reaching the NHL is his answer.</p><p>After sitting out last season, Deyell, 24, is launching a comeback with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. The Edmonton Oilers brought him to camp on a tryout.</p><p>Under NHL by-laws, a player with less than 3/60th vision in one eye is not eligible to play. Deyell&rsquo;s 20/300th vision betters that, but the Oilers are unsure whether Deyell has the greenlight. That issue will be addressed in due time.</p><p>A center since he was four, Deyell must play a new position &mdash; right wing &mdash; to limit his dependency on his right side. He is satisfied with his early progress; he had two goals in his first five AHL games.</p><p>&ldquo;There are limitations when I have the puck, I don&rsquo;t feel as comfortable as I used to,&rdquo; said Deyell, who spent three seasons with St. John&rsquo;s (1996-97 through 1998-99) without ever playing in the NHL.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s like covering up one eye and trying to play. The eye is there, but there&rsquo;s a lot of blur.&rdquo;</p><p>One thing that hasn&rsquo;t changed is Deyell&rsquo;s speed. Quickness has always been an asset and he&rsquo;s not timid now.</p><p>&ldquo;Every day since Day 1 in Edmonton&rsquo;s camp he has gotten better and he doesn&rsquo;t look out of place,&rdquo; said Hamilton coach Claude Julien.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s not afraid to switch lanes and cross over.&rdquo;</p><p>One of the biggest adjustments may be to other players and not because he won&rsquo;t see them coming. It&rsquo;s what they may say.</p><p>Deyell knows when it comes to trash talk, few subjects are off-limits. But he still couldn&rsquo;t believe what he was hearing in a pre-season game against the International League&rsquo;s Cleveland Lumberjacks.</p><p>&ldquo;Some guy told me he was going to carve my other eye out,&rdquo; said Deyell, who won&rsquo;t name the player.&rdquo;I jabbed him a little with my stick and told him how much class he had. I knew I was in the right when none of his teammates said anything.&rdquo;</p><p>Deyell has yet to watch the video of the incident that caused the injury. Guren went to lift Deyell&rsquo;s stick with his own, but missed and clipped Deyell squarely in the eye.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I don&rsquo;t want to look back on,&rdquo; he said.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Deyell on comeback trail, says visors should be worn

<div class="byline">By Jim Benton</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011895/7955615-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>t&rsquo;s fitting that Patrick Roy has evolved into a torch-carrier for NHL goaltenders because nobody knows more about burning flames than the Colorado Avalanche superstar.</p><p>From the time he lit the fuse as a rookie with the Montreal Canadiens in 1985-86 to his record-setting 448th regular season win Oct. 17, Roy&rsquo;s NHL career has been a blaze of glory defined by an insatiable desire to win.</p><p>Anyone doubting Roy&rsquo;s inner drive need only speak with his dad, because in this case, father knows best.</p><p>&ldquo;What is amazing about him is his constant motivation to win that he has kept through all the years,&rdquo; Michel Roy said.</p><p>&ldquo;He has always wanted to win. I think it&rsquo;s more fun for him to win than to play the game.&rdquo;</p><p>Added Roy&rsquo;s younger sister, Alexandra:&rdquo;He always plays to win. To my brother, being second is like being the first loser. That&rsquo;s what helped make him the greatest goalie today.&rdquo;</p><p>Most of Roy&rsquo;s family &mdash; his father, sister, brother Stephane, mother Barbara Miller-Roy and wife Michele &mdash; was on hand at the MCI Center in Washington when Roy set the new standard to Colorado defeated the Caps 4-3 in overtime to help Roy break the record Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk had held for more than 30 years.</p><p>The 35-year-old Roy jumped in jubilation after Peter Forsberg deflected in a Ray Bourque shot for the winning goal, which set off a wild Avalanche celebration. Roy & was carried to the bench on the shoulders of Bourque and Adam Foote and Colorado players donned caps with Roy&rsquo;s name, number and&rdquo;All-time goaltender wins&rdquo; inscribed on them.</p><p>Roy, who has won three Vezina Trophies, two Conn Smythes and played on three Stanley Cup winners, cut some of the net of the goal he defended in the third period and overtime frame. That net has been ticketed for the Hall of Fame in Toronto.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

COVER STORY

Long Live the KING

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011683/7955667-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he night was made more special when Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien called to congratulate Roy during his post-game interview session.</p><p>In all, it was a celebration fit for a king and Roy savored the moments.</p><p>I was very honest when I said I wanted to enjoy breaking the record and I didn&rsquo;t feel any pressure,&rdquo; Roy said.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s hard to appreciate it now as much as I will when I retire. To me, the thing that I always lived for was to win the Stanley Cup. The record has a special place. This is something that doesn&rsquo;t take one year, but takes a career.&rdquo;</p><p>It also takes a unique individual. Roy, like most who reach the pinnacle of their profession, possesses a charismatic confidence that sometimes borders on arrogance. But it&rsquo;s an attitude developed by self-assuredness and the will to be the best.</p><p>NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was among those who recognized Roy&rsquo;s fighting spirit after watching his history-making performance.</p><p>&ldquo;Patrick Roy&rsquo;s passion to play is surpassed only by his passion to win,&rdquo; Bettman said.&rdquo;This remarkable achievement is a testimony to his consistency, his durability, his pride, his skill and perhaps most of all, his nightly determination to meet the highest standards of goaltending excellence &mdash; his own.&rdquo;</p><p>Of course, an iron will can get a guy in trouble from time to time &mdash; just ask Mario Tremblay. The coach of the Canadiens in 1995-96, Tremblay decided to leave Roy in for nine goals during an eventual 11-1 loss to Detroit Dec. 2. Roy, his ego bruised even more badly than his goals-against average, stormed past his coach after being pulled, then made a beeline for team president Ronald Corey and said,&rdquo;That&rsquo;s my last game in Montreal.&rdquo;</p><p>Four days later, he was traded to the Avalanche and six months after that, he was hoisting his third Stanley Cup.</p><p>During Colorado&rsquo;s Cup rim, Roy again wore his extra-large sized heart on his sleeve. In a second round playoff series against Chicago, he and Hawks&rsquo; center Jeremy Roenick traded barbs in an entertaining verbal sparring match. Roy finally stated he couldn&rsquo;t hear what Roenick was saying because he had his two Stanley Cup rings stuck in his ears. But after win No. 448, J.R. put his guns away and congratulated his rival.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had some good battles over the years, but I&rsquo;m happy as anybody he got the record,&rdquo; Roenick said.&rdquo;Hey, Patty, take those Stanley Cup rings out of your ears and listen to me. You deserve it, pal.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>To my brother, being second is like being the first loser That&rsquo;s what helped make him the greatest goalie today.</i>&nbsp;<b>Patrick Roy&rsquo;s sister, Alexandra</b></blockquote><p>Two years ago, Roy&rsquo;s fiery nature surfaced again after he was pulled briefly from a game in Anaheim to allow Colorado&rsquo;s power play unit to rest. Backup Craig Billington played for fewer than 30 seconds, but the Avs scored what turned out to be the winning goal. Billington was credited with the win and Roy vented his anger by smashing a TV and VCR in the dressing room after the game.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an historian, he knows the position, he has passion for the game itself, he&rsquo;s very intelligent, he enjoys all facets of the game, both mentally and physically and now he&rsquo;s the winningest goalie in the history of the game,&rdquo; Billington said.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s something. Whether we want to admit it or not, we get paid to win. I think the record speaks volumes. You can&rsquo;t put up numbers like that without having good seasons year after year.&rdquo;</p><p>Roy, the hockey historian, appreciates what the late Sawchuk did for the game. He has several Sawchuk momentos among his prized collection of hockey cards.</p><p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know a lot about him, but I read the (1998 David Dupuis biography) and saw some tape of him,&rdquo; Roy said.&rdquo;(In Sawchuk&rsquo;s era), it was really hard. There were just six teams. You had to be a great competitor to keep your job. It was a different time. That&rsquo;s why you don&rsquo;t want to compare that time to my time.&rdquo;</p><p>One of the links between the past and the present is Roy&rsquo;s boyhood idol, Daniel Bouchard. Bouchard played much of his career for the Quebec Nordiques and Roy patterned his style after his hometown goalie.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an amazing record he set,&rdquo; Bouchard said.&rdquo;Terry Sawchuk played a long time (21 seasons). The funny thing is, I patterned myself after Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall and Johnny Bower. Then here (Roy) is breaking Terry Sawchuk&rsquo;s record.&rdquo;</p><p>Whether Roy&rsquo;s record will stand as long as Sawchuk&rsquo;s did remains to be seen. But fittingly, the man with the best chance to challenge the mark grew up idolizing Roy and patterning his game after his hero. New Jersey Devils&rsquo; goalie Martin Brodeur had 246 wins through Oct. 19 and, at 28, would have to remain injury-free and continue to put up 30-win seasons for most of this decade to get into Roy territory.</p><p>Brodeur said he&rsquo;s not concerning himself with all-time records just yet.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s not for now,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo;The next thing is to go for 300 (wins). After that, well, time is on my side. Time and the team that I play for.</p><p>&ldquo;What Patrick did was just amazing.&rdquo;</p><p>Amazing, yes, but not a shock to those who have been close to Roy and watched his development over the years.</p><p>&ldquo;When he first broke in with Montreal, I&rsquo;m sure he was just going from game to game,&rdquo; Bouchard said.&rdquo;I think the fact he learned to go from game to game and not look two or three seasons ahead is why he has become so successful. Mentally he was going to make it because he wasn&rsquo;t going to let anything get in his way. He had a dream and he stuck to his guns and made it happen.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>BATTLE OF THE LEGENDS</b></h2><p><b>Season-by-season victory comparison</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021206/7955660-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="318" height="388"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Roy</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03804/7955653-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="328" height="392"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Sawchuk</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04620/7955646-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="841" height="2840"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0011-01

“The record has a special place. This is somethingthat doesn’t take one year, but a career.” — Patrick Roy

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011848/7955705-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="343" height="361"></div><p>Sometimes a trade helps both teams, sometimes it helps one and sometimes it helps neither.</p><p>And sometimes the best trades are the ones never made, the ones left on the drawing board, the ones where good sense prevailed over a tantalizing offer.</p><p>Case in point: The decision made by the San Jose Sharks two years ago. They could have acquired Theo Fleury from Calgary and maybe signed him to a long-term contract, if they were willing to match the New York Rangers&rsquo; offer. Instead, they have Brad Stuart patrolling the blueline, where he could remain for the next 10 or 15 or 20 years. Then and now, Sharks&rsquo; GM Dean Lombardi has no regrets.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not only the player, but the type of player that is getting increasingly hard to find &mdash; guys that have the potential to run the power play and play a lot of a minutes,&rdquo; Lombardi said.&rdquo;Just to have a guy of that potential is something that you couldn&rsquo;t give up on. (Calgary) kept insisting (Stuart be included), but it was an easy decision (to say no), quite honestly. It wasn&rsquo;t something we agonized over.&rdquo;</p><p>Stuart was oblivious to all the trade talk back then as he played in the Western League, just like he times out the talk he shouldn&rsquo;t be doing what he&rsquo;s doing and that the sophomore jinx is just around the corner.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of funny,&rdquo; Stuart said.&rdquo;When the trade was a real hot topic, we were playing down in Spokane and Portland and I got a call from my agent about a week after it settled down. He said, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t worry about it.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Stuart&rsquo;s response:&rdquo;Don&rsquo;t worry about what?&rdquo;</p><p>That might as well be his motto.</p><p>Take all the talk about the invariable second-year slump, as big a bogeyman to young players as the Blair Witch. Stuart has channeled any doubt into motivation.</p><p>&ldquo;It seems like all the questions I&rsquo;m answering lately are about the sophomore jinx,&rdquo; Stuart said.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s my focus, distancing myself from it.&rdquo;</p><p>The second season is so difficult for first-year wonders because expectations have been raised. Last season, all Stuart did as a 20-year-old rookie defenseman was record 10 goals and 36 points and finish second in Calder Trophy voting to New Jersey&rsquo;s Scott Gomez.</p><p>The natural athletic frame, poise and rocket shot provide ample tools and Stuart has the toolbox, too &mdash; unlike, say, Alexandre Daigle. Lombardi and Stuart&rsquo;s teammates, past and present, rave about his focus and dedication. Lombardi calls him the&rdquo;Canadian version of the allAmerican boy&rdquo; and suggests he would be playing shortstop in the New York Yankees&rsquo; organization or quarterback at Notre Dame had he been born south of the border.</p><p>And coach Darryl Sutter would like to increase his minutes per game to around 25, up from last year&rsquo;s 20:24. After four games, Stuart had one goal and was playing an average of 19:11, fourth among Shark defenders.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody wants to play more,&rdquo; Stuart said.&rdquo;You&rsquo;ve got to earn it, he&rsquo;s not going to keep throwing you out 20 minutes a game if you&rsquo;re not doing the job. You have to keep working to earn it.&rdquo;</p><p>The young Stuart has to keep working because, remember, he&rsquo;s a work in progress &mdash; and his sequel season has been getting some mixed reviews. For all his gifts and talents, there are still mistakes. Defense is an unforgiving position. When Boston&rsquo;s Jason Allison stripped Stuart on a power play and scored earlier this season, eyebrows were raised and scouts jotted down notes in the press box. Others questioned Stuart after he struggled with a minus-2 game against Dallas.</p><p>Still, his goal hasn&rsquo;t changed.&rdquo;Just consistency, being the best player I can be every night.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021460/7955698-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="291" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Brad Stuart</b></figcaption></div><p>That Stuart is going to be great someday is a given. Only the timetable is in doubt.</p><p>&ldquo;A lot of pressure comes externally,&rdquo; Lombardi said.&rdquo;You look at hockey people, I don&rsquo;t think we have unreal expectations. When you hear breakthrough season, 50 or 60 points, you won&rsquo;t hear that from us.&rdquo;</p><p>What you will hear from the Sharks is&ldquo;progression.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;We talk specifics with him all the time, believe me,&rdquo; Sutter said.&rdquo;You have to be real careful with those guys. Last year, he had an outstanding regular season and everyone took note of it and then he had a real tough playoffs, real tough. It&rsquo;s a different level of game there and (opponents) are more aware of you.&rdquo;</p><p>Stuart probably has an advantage playing in northern California. The Sharks&rsquo; fans are rabid, but largely non-critical. And after games and practices, Stuart can disappear into the malls of Silicon Valley, or watch a favorite band such as Pearl Jam without being reminded of what happened the night before. He can grow without being publicly dissected.</p><p>Stuart is also using his judgment. When the Sharks got to Dallas in October, Pearl Jam was in concert that night. Stuart debated his options and opted not to go.&rdquo;Naw,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo;We have a game tomorrow.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

COLUMN

Successful sequel Stuart’s challenge

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021125/7955736-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="676" height="828"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011452/7955743-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="216" height="256"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Mighty Ducks of Anaheim might have discovered a key to their season during an otherwise nondescript 4-2 loss to the Devils in the dreary Meadowlands.</p><p>Trailing 4-0 in the third period of the opener of a five-game, mid-October road trip, Anaheim played what coach Craig Hartsburg called&rdquo;by far our best period of the season.&rdquo;</p><p>The Ducks built off then-new-found confidence to score successive 4-3 victories over the Rangers and Islanders in their next two games.</p><p>&ldquo;We finished the game well in Jersey and we talked about how if we played the way we did in the third period in Jersey, we would have some success,&rdquo; said captain Paul Kariya, who recorded his first goal of the season at the expense of the Rangers.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Ducks raised a few eyebrows Oct. 15 when they sent center Antti Aalto to Cincinnati (American League).&rdquo;Aalto hasn&rsquo;t played the way we think he can play,&rdquo; Hartsburg said.&rdquo;He can be a really good player if he plays every shift, every night, hard at both ends of the rink.&rdquo; Aalto, 25, had seven goals, 18 points and a minus-13 mark in 63 games last year. Through four games this season, Aalto had one assist and was plus-1.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> The Ducks received some strong early returns in their bid to produce a more balanced scoring attack. Kariya and Teemu Selanne, who produced 75 of Anaheim&rsquo;s 217 goals (nearly 35 per cent) last season, combined for only four of the first 16 this year. The Ducks received six goals, including three by Marty McInnis and two by Mike Leclerc, from the second line that also includes Matt Cullen.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Top line center <b>Steve Rucchin,</b> side-lined by a broken metacarpal bone in his left hand since Sept. 22, figured to be back in the lineup in late October.</p><p><i>- Dan Wood</i></p><p><b>ABOUT TIME</b> Patrick Traverse became the first Duck defender to score a goal this season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-02

Confidence found in Jersey swamp

<div class="byline">- Jejy Schultz</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03810/7955781-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>The ice chips fly as Buffalo defenseman Jay McKee, left, and Chicago center Josef Marha collide along the boards.</i></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04595/7955774-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="215" height="257"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>here was little doubt from the time Donald Audette was acquired from Los Angeles late last season he was the best offensive Diaver on the Thrashers&rsquo; roster. Now, he&rsquo;s reaffirming it.</p><p>The right winger had a hand in seven of Atlanta&rsquo;s first nine goals this season, recording threegoals and four assists in tour games.</p><p>His timing couldn&rsquo;t be better. Audette, who is earning $2 million in the last year of his current contract, could become an unrestricted free agent July 1.</p><p>GM Don Waddell said the Thrashers want to re-sign Audette and would&rdquo;address it sometime during the season. but it&rsquo;s not in the immediate future.&rdquo;Audette said he understands Waddell&rsquo;s decision not to rush into a multi-year contract.&rdquo;Before you sign a guy for the long term, you want to know him,&rdquo; he said.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Faceoffs were a concern for coach Curt Fraser early in the season. The Thrashers won only 26 of 70 faceoffs (37.1 per cent) in a 52 loss at Tampa Bay The team&rsquo;s 41.3 faceoff percentage through that point ranked 29th in the league, ahead of only Nashville (37.1). The team&rsquo;s top two faceoff men were Jarrod Skalde (48.0) and Ray Ferraro (42.3).&rdquo;We practice them every day, I don&rsquo;t know what more we can do,&rdquo; Fraser said.&rdquo;We may have to start playing for the loss and the recovery of the puck.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Goalie Damian Rhodes was impressive in his first four starts, even though the team was 0-2-2. Rhodes allowed 13 goals in the four games (including two overtimes), but five of those goals came against Tampa Bay when his defense abandoned him and the Thrashers gave the Lightning 12 power plays. Four of Tampa Bay&rsquo;s goals came on the power play, one during a 5-on-3.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The team was slowly getting healthier. Left winger <b>Hnat Domenichelli</b> returned Oct. 17 after missing all of training camp with a sprained ankle. Center <b>Patrik Stefan,</b> out since suffering a groin strain in the preseason, was expected to return in time for an Oct. 21 game at Ottawa&hellip;Left winger Andrew Brunette, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer last year with 23 goals and 50 points, did not have a goal in the team&rsquo;s first four games&hellip;<b>After drawing</b> 17,421 in the opener, the Thrashers&rsquo; next two home crowds (11,414 and 13,106) ranked as the two lowest in franchise history.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-03

Audette leads way in contract year

<div class="byline">- Nancy Marrapese-Burrell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05414/7955812-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="211" height="257"></div><p>Last season was full of negativity and controversy because of the Bruins&rsquo; poor start and even worse finish.</p><p>The rash of injuries to key personnel, the contract squabbles and the lack of depth plunged Boston into a depressing campaign. After a 30-1-0 start this year, it appeared the black cloud had lifted.</p><p>However, following two straight road losses, GM-president Harry Sinden said he was very disturbed by how his team was skating.</p><p>Then, after the club was drilled 6-1 by Edmonton and had given up 16 goals in three games, Sinden said his team skated better, but just wasn&rsquo;t getting the job done.</p><p>&ldquo;We lose the 1-on-l battles all over the ice,&rdquo; Sinden said.</p><p>Asked where the blame should fall, Sinden offered an understated, but obvious, reference to coach Pat Burns.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve probably got the wrong players again,&rdquo; Sinden said.</p><p>Responded Burns:&rdquo;He has a right to make any comment that he wants, he&rsquo;s the GM of the hockey club.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Bruins hoped to play a more up-tempo style this year, but after three straight losses, Burns decided a return to basics was in order.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s all nice and fine to hear we&rsquo;d like to see a more offensive team,&rdquo; Burns said.&rdquo;If we&rsquo;re going to be in hockey games and give ourselves a chance to win, we&rsquo;ve got to be a better defensive hockey club.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Goalie Byron Dafoe returned home to Boston after reinjuring his left hamstring in a game against Los Angeles Oct. 13. Dafoe originally hurt it Oct. 7 in a game against Philadelphia. Rookie Andrew Raycroft took over as the starter, while journeyman Kay Whitmore was called up for backup duty.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The worst plus-minus on the team through seven games belonged to big defenseman <b>Hal Gill</b> at minus-8. When asked how that could be, Gill said it was simple.&rdquo;I was in the wrong spots at the wrong times doing the wrong things,&rdquo; he said&hellip;Coach <b>Pat Burns</b> was hoping to see more from center <b>Shawn Bates</b> than he&rsquo;d seen in the early going. Bates didn&rsquo;t have a point in his first five games and was a healthy scratch in two others.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-05

Sinden hints he’s unhappy with Burns

<div class="byline">- Bucky Gleason</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06325/7955843-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="213" height="250"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span>efenseman Alexei Zhitnik was suspended four games after hitting Montreal&rsquo;s Andrei Markov with a high stick, but the Sabres seemed more disturbed with Zhitnik than the punishment.</p><p>The call came in the closing minutes and the Habs scored the winner with 56 seconds remaining.</p><p>&ldquo;It was a stupid penalty,&rdquo; Zhitnik said.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s nothing I can say I wasn&rsquo;t thinking.&rdquo; The remorse wasn&rsquo;t satisfactory for coach Lindy Ruff, who said he would start benching players who lacked discipline. Winger Vaclav Varada took a bad penalty early against Montreal. The Sabres were the NHL&rsquo;s fifth-most penalized team through five games and they ranked 26th in penalty-killing at 75.8 per cent.</p><p>&ldquo;Nobody&rsquo;s going to get any rope,&rdquo; Ruff said.&rdquo;Somebody has to start sitting. You sit them for a period&hellip;until they get the message.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Goalie Dominik Hasek didn&rsquo;t play particularly well in his first three games after coming back from a strained knee. Hasek had a stretch where he allowed six goals in just more than 66 minutes. In his first three games after the injury, the Dominator was 0-3-0, with a 3.66 goals-against average and .888 save percentage.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> The Sabres scored nine goals in their first two games while going 4-for-ll on the power play in victories over Chicago and Los Angeles. They followed with five goals in their next three games, all losses, while converting just 1-of-19 opportunities with the man advantage.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Winger <b>Rob Ray</b> was thrilled a day after Edmonton&rsquo;s <b>Igor Ulanov</b> blindsided him into the boards. Really, he was.&rdquo;My hips were bothering me and my back was sore. I got hit and now I feel great,&rdquo; Ray said.&rdquo;I should send him a letter thanking him for straightening everything out. A chiropractor couldn&rsquo;t even do it.&rdquo;&hellip;The Sabres are experimenting by bringing goalie <b>DominikHasek&rsquo;s</b> English teacher on longer road trips to help their European players on non-game days&hellip;Defenseman <b>Alexei Zhitnik&rsquo;s</b> power play goal against Montreal Oct. 17 was his first man-advantage goal since last Nov. 14.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-06

Ruff ride in store for stupid penalties

<div class="byline">- Bob Sutton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021148/7955905-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="212" height="215"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>eft winger Martin Gelinas was quick to endorse the Carolina Hurricanes&rsquo; new style of play. Gelinas should get more scoring chances with the faster pace.</p><p>He scored two goals in the team&rsquo;s first five games. Last season, he didn&rsquo;t notch his first goal until the 21st game and his second goal until the 32nd.</p><p>&ldquo;He fits right in with that,&rdquo; coach Paul Maurice said of the style and Gelinas&rsquo; skills.</p><p>Gelinas has struggled in stretches since joining Carolina in a 1998 trade. A year ago he was placed on waivers, with no takers.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s an emphasis on speed and passing,&rdquo; Gelinas said.&rdquo;This is more of the style I was used to in the Western Conference.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> It took the Canes three games to get their first road victory this season, after winning their first two road games last season.</p><p>&ldquo;We need to be .500 on the road,&rdquo; Maurice said.&rdquo;We can be a pretty dangerous team.&rdquo;</p><p>The Hurricanes picked up 39 points on the road last season, though they scored four more goals overall than their opponents in those games.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Goaltender Arturs Irbe probably will have another busy season, but the Hurricanes hope to keep his workload below the league-high 75 games in which he played last season.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s about winning,&rdquo; Irbe said.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s not save percentage or goals against. The game is getting better now, so I&rsquo;ve got to get better.&rdquo;</p><p>Backup Tyler Moss had an encouraging debut, though the team lost to the Nashville Predators. With three sets of games on back-to-back nights in November, Moss should have ample opportunity to post his first victory with the organization.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The Pittsburgh Penguins honored Hurricanes&rsquo; center and captain <b>Ron Francis</b> as a member of the franchise&rsquo;s Millennium Team on the same night he scored the decisive goal against his former team&hellip;Starting the season in their permanent home has been a godsend for the Hurricanes. A year ago, the team started with a nine-game road trip as construction continued on its home arena in Raleigh&hellip;Rookie defenseman <b>Niclas Wallin</b>, injured in the season opener, needed surgery on his right wrist and will miss about a month.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-02

Faster pace creates chances for Gelinas

<div class="byline">- Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03824/7955936-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="212" height="237"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>lackhawks&rsquo; coach Alpo Suhonen insisted there was no goaltender controversy, even though Jocelyn Thibault was off to a slow start for the second year in a row and being pushed for playing time by Robbie Tallas.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s too early in the season to say how it&rsquo;s going to go with these guys,&rdquo; said Suhonen.&rdquo;Jocelyn Thibault is still our No. 1 goalie.&rdquo;</p><p>Thibault was 1-2-0-1 in four starts with a 4.71 goals-against average and .819 save percentage. He was pulled in the Hawks&rsquo; home opener against Detroit, a 4-0 loss, after allowing three goals on four shots.</p><p>Tallas beat Columbus 2-1 on Oct. 15, then faced 40 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Rangers Oct. 18.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a special position in hockey,&rdquo; said Suhonen.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s like a drum player in a brass band. When he&rsquo;s got the beat, the team&rsquo;s going.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Suhonen shuffled his top line, promoting Eric Daze to play left wing with Tony Amonte and Alex Zhamnov and dropping Valeri Zelepukin to the fourth line.</p><p>&ldquo;At this stage in his career, he needs the possibility and the chance to prove himself,&rdquo; Suhonen said of the inconsistent Daze.</p><p>Suhonen also put Dean McAmmond back at left wing on the second line with Michael Nylander and Steve Sullivan, and dropped rookie Reto Von Arx to the third.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Suhonen settled on using Anders Eriksson with Alexander Karpovtsev on defense, and Stephane Quintal with rookie Steve McCarthy, who was averaging 15 minutes&rsquo; ice time. Boris Mironov was paired with Kevin Dean.</p><p>Eriksson was getting the most minutes in all situations.</p><p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know him coming in,&rdquo; said Suhonen.&rdquo;People gave me scouting reports, but he&rsquo;s been clearly better than I thought.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK Judith Smith</b>. 50, wife of GM Mike Smith, died Oct. 15 after a lengthy battle with cancer and Parkinson&rsquo;s disease&hellip;The Blackhawks were negotiating a buyout of defenseman <b>Doug Zmolek&rsquo;s</b> contract, which has two years remaining at $1.25 million per season. Zmolek, 29, was sent to Norfolk (AHL) but hadn&rsquo;t reported&hellip;The crowd of 11,780, which watched the Hawks play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 15, was the smallest in the seven-year history of the United Center.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-03

Thibault still No. 1 despite slow start

<div class="byline">- Adrian Dater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021040/7955988-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="271" height="303"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Gump Worsley 352 Losses</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011386/7955995-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="213" height="244"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>O</span>ne night after Patrick Roy made NHL history, his backup, David Aebischer, also recorded a league first. On Oct. 18, Aebischer became the first Swiss-born player to win an NHL game when he backstopped the Avalanche to a 51 win at Columbus. In his first career start, Aebischer made 20 saves for victory No. 1. A night earlier against Washington, Roy got No. 448.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s obviously a thrill to win your first game,&rdquo; said Aebischer, 22.&rdquo;I hope there are many more.&rdquo;</p><p>Aebischer shook off some early nerves and a Columbus goal on its second shot to settle down and give the Avs a solid performance.</p><p>&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t have to make a lot of big saves, but I liked what I saw out there,&rdquo; said coach Bob Hartley.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Colorado looked dominant in staying unbeaten through the first seven games (5-0-2-0). One of the most significant changes is Peter Forsberg&rsquo;s style of play. The Avalanche center has tempered his macho puck-lugging style and instead is making quicker passes and avoiding violent collisions. The result, the Avs hope, is Forsberg&rsquo;s first injury-free season since 1995-96. Forsberg was limited to 49 games last season because of injury. It was the lowest mark of his career if you discount the 47 he played in the lockout-shorted 1994-95 season.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Hartley&rsquo;s decision to replace Chris Drury with Adam Foote at one of the points on the power play was paying dividends. Foote, whose career high for points in a season is 21, had eight (all assists) through the first seven games, a stat that led all NHL defenseman. Foote was moved to one of the points alongside Ray Bourque after the Avs got off to a l-for-16 start on the power play. After that, the power play got cranked up, moving to 20.8 per-cent after a 2-for-7 showing in Columbus.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Right winger Adam Deadmarsh suffered a bruised eye Oct. 17 in Washington and missed the following night&rsquo;s game. He was listed as day-to-day&hellip;After the win at Columbus, the Avs played 23 games at home in a 33-game stretch&hellip;In his win over the Blue Jackets, rookie goalie David Aebischer beat Marc Denis, the one-time Avs&rsquo; goalie of the future. Denis was traded to Columbus in the off-season when it became clear the team would lose either him or Aebischer in the expansion draft.</p><p><b>LOSING IT</b> The record that no goalie chases belongs to Gump Worsley, who amassed 352 losses during his 21year NHL career. All-time leaders are listed with the teams with which they recorded the most losses and total games. Active leaders are listed with their current teams and losses through Oct. 19.</p><h2><b>Most Losses (All-Time)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03713/7955981-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="890" height="257"></div><h2><b>Most Losses (Active Goalies)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04544/7955974-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="912" height="275"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05404/7955967-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="268" height="304"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>J. Vanbiesbrouck 321 Losses</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0019-02

Swiss time arrives as Aebischer wins

<div class="byline">- Aaron Portzline</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011284/7956026-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="212" height="248"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>fter six games of futility, the Columbus Blue Jackets decided to scrap their top line of Geoff Sanderson, Robert Kron and Steve Heinze for the time being.</p><p>&ldquo;The bottom line is points and we&rsquo;re not putting them up right now,&rdquo; Heinze said.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s frustrating for all of us.&rdquo;</p><p>All three are NHL veterans, and the hope was they&rsquo;d each cast aside a couple of down seasons and return to form in starring roles for an expansion team.</p><p>It hadn&rsquo;t happened yet.</p><p>Through six games, Heinze had the line&rsquo;s only goal and Sanderson its only assist. Kron, a speedster, was scoreless on 12 shots, a couple of them wide-open nets.</p><p>&ldquo;You give them time to sort it out,&rdquo; said coach Dave King.&rdquo;But then you have to shake things up and see if you can&rsquo;t find some better chemistry.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> If the first two weeks of the season were an indication, the Blue Jackets may have found something special in right winger David Vyborny, a native of the Czech Republic.</p><p>&ldquo;When you talk about pleasant surprises, he&rsquo;s your guy,&rdquo; King said.</p><p>Vyborny had three goals and four pointe in his first five games to lead all NHL rookies as well as Columbus in scoring.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Backup goalie Marc Denis got two cracks at his former team, the Colorado Avalanche, but lost both games. It&rsquo;s hard to put the blame on Denis, though. The 23-year-old made 30 saves against the Avs in a 3-1 loss Oct. 14. Four days later he made 36 saves in a 5-1 defeat.</p><p>&ldquo;I really wanted to win these games,&rdquo; Denis said.&rdquo;I still know most of the guys on that team. Many of them are still my friends, but I really, really wanted to beat them.&rdquo;</p><p>The Blue Jackets remain enamored of Denis, whom they acquired for a second-round draft pick last June.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Veteran center Ted Drury was a healthy scratch in five of the Blue Jackets first six games&hellip;Right winger <b>Kevin Dineen</b> had been slowed by strained groin, but is able to play&hellip;The Blue Jackets got another standing ovation after their third straight home loss, causing one player to remark,&rdquo;What are they going to do when we win one here?&rdquo;&hellip;In a three-game stretch &mdash; two against Colorado, one against Chicago &mdash; the Blue Jackets were outshot 105-52.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

Top line disbanded due to bottom line

<div class="byline">- Chuck Carlton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02917/7956057-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="246" height="242"></div><p>They win with defense, goaltending and a system.</p><p>Maybe the Dallas Stars needed a refresher course after a 12-1 start. Confidence might have played a part. So, too, could have the adjustment to the NHL crackdown on slashing and restraining fouls.</p><p>But just as quickly as it disappeared, the Stars were back on top of their game.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s real nice to see we&rsquo;re playing good defensive hockey and not giving up as many good chances, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; said goalie Ed Belfour.</p><p>The Stars rattled off consecutive home wins over Philadelphia, Washington and San Jose, allowing just two goals in the three victories. And they had 137-minute streak without being scored upon. Washington managed just 12 shots, the Sharks, 13.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Right winger Jon Sim, who won a job in training camp before being hurt, returned from a fractured shoulder blade Oct. 18 against San Jose.</p><p>&ldquo;I feel I have a lot of energy to get out,&rdquo; said Sim and coach Ken Hitchcock was more than willing to oblige. Sim was immediately placed on the fourth line with Kirk Muller and Grant Marshall in hopes of proving an abrasive attitude.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s his game,&rdquo; Hitchcock said.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s got skill. His job is he upsets guys playing against him because of the way he plays.&rdquo;</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> At the start of the season, Jamie Langenbrunner was being christened as the next Guy Carbonneau, a transplanted third line center who would fill all those unpleasant two-way duties. Then the Stars had trouble scoring and things changed. Langenbrunner moved alongside Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen on the top line.</p><p>Brett Hull slid to the second line with Joe Nieuwendyk and Brenden Morrow, igniting instant chemistry. And Roman Lyashenko played three strong games as the third line center.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK Goalie Ed</b> Belfour posted his 50th shutout Oct. 14, tops among active goaltenders and 18th on the all-time list&hellip;Rookie right winger <b>Tyler Bouck</b> scored his first NHL goal, going airborne on a backhand to score what proved to be the game-winner in a 2-1 victory Oct. 18 over San Jose&hellip;Defenseman Derian Hatcher&rsquo;s quick, assertive start is already starting to generate a Norris Trophy buzz in the dressing room.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-02

Stars bounce back from horrible start

<div class="byline">- Nicholas J. Cotsonika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03652/7956088-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="222" height="240"></div><p>Captain Steve Yzerman and defenseman Chris Chelios had arthroscopic knee surgeries within five days of one another.</p><p>Yzerman is expected to miss more than a month; Chelios&rsquo; timetable wasn&rsquo;t immediately available.</p><p>Yzerman satout the Wings first two games with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee, returned to play two games and then complained of discomfort. Chelios twisted his left knee Oct. 17 against St. Louis.</p><p>Making matters worse for the Red Wings, off to a 3-3-0-1 start, defenseman Steve Duchesne suffered soreness related to the knee surgery he had in August.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> With Chelios out and Duchesne hobbling, the Wings called up veteran defenseman Todd Gill, who was sent to the minors after the exhibition season.</p><p>The first night both didn&rsquo;t play, Bowman worked Nicklas Lidstrom for more than 33 minutes. Look for 20-year-old Jiri Fischer&rsquo;s ice time to increase dramatically, from the 16-minute range to the 23minute range.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> While goaltender Chris Osgood struggled with a 1-3-0 record and .884 save percentage, backup Manny Legace earned ice time. Bowman started him against Chicago Oct. 12 and he collected his first NHL shutout. Bowman then started him against St. Louis Oct. 17 and he earned a 2-1 victory, allowing only a late shorthanded goal. Legace suffered his first loss as a Wing &mdash; he went 4-0-0 with them last season &mdash; in overtime against Nashville, but he was sharp again.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s earned his job,&rdquo; Bowman said.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> There were no plans to move <b>Mathieu Dandenault</b> back to defense from right wing. Coach <b>Scotty Bowman</b> has used Dandenault on defense at times the past few seasons, but the Wings prefer he remain up front&hellip;No one will wear the &lsquo;C&rsquo; in captain <b>Steve Yzerman&rsquo;s</b> absence. Defenseman <b>Nicklas Lidstrom</b>, center <b>Sergei Fedorov</b> and left winger <b>Brendan Shanahan</b> will serve as alternate captains&hellip;The Wings walked around with their noses crinkled for a couple of days. Joe Louis Arena played host to a pro wrestling event and while the performers used the Wings&rsquo; dressing room, one of them vomited in the sauna.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-03

Injury bug chomps Red Wings in knees

<div class="byline">- Rob Tychkowski</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011164/7956119-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="211" height="242"></div><p>Not a bad beginning for a team that normally stumbles out of the starting blocks like Bambi on a frozen pond.</p><p>With five rookies in the lineup, seven veterans gone from last year, longterm injuries to forwards Ethan Moreau and Josh Green and back-to-back dates against Western Conference super powers to open the season, the last thing anyone expected from the Oilers was their best start since 1985-86.</p><p>But that&rsquo;s what they got. The Oilers went 5-1-1 in their first seven games, knocking off the likes of Detroit, Colorado and Buffalo en route to their best start since Wayne Gretzky scored 215 points.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of belief in here that we&rsquo;re a good hockey team,&rdquo; said captain Doug Weight.&rdquo;We&rsquo;re more mature than we&rsquo;ve been in the past and we&rsquo;re playing like it.&rdquo;</p><p>Edmonton&rsquo;s first line has led the charge. Weight and wingers Bill Guerin and Ryan Smyth combined for 27 points through the first seven games while netminder Tommy Salo had a 1.98 goals-against average.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Oilers&rsquo; power play was a soft spot in the early going. They scored on their second man advantage of the season, then went 0-for-22.</p><p>The first power play unit is simply the first line, but for some reason Weight, Guerin and Smyth have been more dangerous 5-on-5.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Igor Ulanov has made a dramatic turnaround on the Oilers&rsquo; blueline. He lost his job after a dreadful training camp and spent the first game of the season on press row. Forced back into action by an injury to Eric Brewer, Ulanov responded with 31 minutes of ice time and the game-tying goal at Detroit Oct. 11.</p><p>He had been rock solid ever since.</p><p>Teamed with Jason Smith, he&rsquo;s on the ice in all the crucial situations and had doled out a handful of punishing hits.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Despite Edmonton&rsquo;s red-hot start, attendance was down an average of about 1,000 a game over the first two weeks of the season&hellip; Forwards <b>Brian Swanson</b> and <b>Dan LaCouture</b> scored their first-ever NHL goals, against Boston Oct. 17&hellip;. Left winger <b>Ethan Moreau</b>, who has been recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, was expected back by the end of October.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-01

Oilers’ early success best since 99’s days

<div class="byline">- David J. Neal</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02844/7956150-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="212" height="249"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Panthers were given so much time to answer questions about their winless start after playing just three games in the first 17 days of October that there were none left to ask by the time they left for a three-game road trip.</p><p>As a result, the team left for Phoenix in an almost jaunty mood.</p><p>&ldquo;To get down on each other and lose confidence isn&rsquo;t even a thought right now,&rdquo; center Len Barrie said after a 0-1-1-1 start.</p><p>The only thing the Panthers were down on was the inactivity. GM Bryan Murray said he understood wanting to avoid conflicts with the NFL and Major League Baseball playoffs, especially in the South Florida market, but felt Florida&rsquo;s skill players weren&rsquo;t developing much timing or flow.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Las Vegas gambling hawks might want to save up for Nov. 15, Nov. 29, Jan. 9 and Jan. 12, the remaining Florida-Carolina games. The freewheeling Panthers get forced into battles of attrition by Carolina with the result often being a draw.</p><p>Their 2-2 tie Oct. 13 was the seventh overtime game in the last 11 meetings. One of those games that didn&rsquo;t go into extra time was won with seconds left in regulation.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> The Ray Whitney-Igor Larionov-Pavel Bure line didn&rsquo;t provide the offense expected in its first two games together. It didn&rsquo;t help that Bure missed the third period against Carolina with a strained groin he suffered before his second period power play goal.</p><p>Without a physical forward, the line has to produce off the rush almost exclusively and opponents have been wary about letting any forward slip behind them with Bure on the ice.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The 2-2 tie with Carolina was the first regular-season game for left winger <b>Ray Whitney</b> without a point since a 3-1 win over Boston on March 23, a 10-game streak&hellip;Right winger <b>Paul Laus</b> is a fan of a bigger NHL.&rdquo;Thank God for expansion. Some people think it&rsquo;s bad. I think it&rsquo;s really good,&rdquo; Laus said after signing a three-year extension. Laus was taken from Pittsburgh&rsquo;s system in the 1993 expansion draft. He turned himself from a pure tough guy to a serviceable defenseman, then made the transition to right wing last season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-02

Panthers lose roar after long break

<div class="byline">- Matt McHale</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03627/7956181-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="213" height="246"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Kings have their top scoring center back in the lineup. Restricted free agent Jozef Stumpel ended his six-week holdout when he returned Oct. 21 in Dallas after signing a three-year, $7.7million contract.</p><p>Stumpel, the Kings&rsquo; top pivot with 58 points in 57 games last year, is happy to be back. He&rsquo;s just not too thrilled he didn&rsquo;t get the contract he was seeking.</p><p>The 28-year-old Czech knows, however, if he stays healthy and helps the Kings reach the playoffs again, incentive bonuses can get him the $9 million he wanted.</p><p>&ldquo;It was just time to play hockey,&rdquo; said Stumpel, who missed 45 games the last two years with groin and knee problems.&rdquo;It was very hard at times, but you get to the point where you stop thinking about the contract and just think about getting back to business. If I do my job everything will take care of itself.&rdquo;</p><p>His new contract calls for a base salary of $2.2 million this season, prorated for the seven games he missed. Next season, Stumpel will earn $2.65 million and $2.85 million in 200203. He has incentive bonuses for goals and points, plus playoff appearances.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Captain Rob Blake was expected to miss two weeks with a hairline fracture within the vertebrae of his lower back. The Kings and their power play were already feeling his pain. After scoring in five consecutive games with the man advantage, Los Angeles was 0-for-ll in the first two games without Blake at the point.</p><p>Although he played one game after getting injured in a collision with Boston&rsquo;s Brian Rolston Oct. 13, the Kings were 0-2-1 in the next three games. It also came at the beginning of a critical early &mdash; season stretch of nine road games out of 10.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Wingers <b>Luc Robitaille</b> and <b>ZiggyPalffy</b> were tied for the league lead with 12 points after the first six games and then were shut out in back-to-back games against Nashville and St. Louis&hellip;Right winger <b>Ian Laperriere</b>, who rehabbed for 4-1/2 months from reconstructive knee surgery, scored the first hat trick of his career, against Boston. After the game, he announced he is dedicating his season to his father Michel, who has pancreatic cancer<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-03

Kings sign Stumpel to three-year deal

<div class="byline">- Tom Jones</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02717/7956212-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="780" height="932"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011047/7956219-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="230" height="236"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>fter months of historic firsts for Minnesota&rsquo;s NHL expansion team, none may have meant as much as the first of Oct. 18. The first victory.</p><p>In an appropriately Wild game, Minnesota beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-5 at home.</p><p>The hero was rookie Marian Gaborik, who scored &lsquo;two&rsquo; game-winning goals. His goal with 2:28 left broke a 4-4 tie and gave the Wild the lead for good. He added what appeared to be an insurance, empty-net goal with 58 seconds left, but it turned out to be the game winner when the Lightning scored with 11.3 seconds remaining.</p><p>&ldquo;They had been working so hard, but they hadn&rsquo;t been rewarded with a win,&rdquo; said coach Jacques Lemaire.&rdquo;So then the longer you go, the more you start to press. So I&rsquo;m glad they could get it and now relax.&rdquo;</p><p>Through the first five games, the Wild played well against some of the league&rsquo;s better teams, losing close games to Anaheim, St. Louis and San Jose, then tying Philadelphia.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> At first, Lemaire wasn&rsquo;t sure what makes rookie right winger Maxim Sushinsky click as a player. But the coach soon found out.</p><p>&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t have a great shot, he doesn&rsquo;t skate that well,&rdquo; Lemaire said.&rdquo;But he has a knack for the puck around the net.&rdquo;</p><p>Sushinsky became the first Wild player to record a two-goal game, Oct. 15 against Edmonton. He did it again in the Wild&rsquo;s first victory</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> The day after he scored the final two goals in the Wild&rsquo;s first win, Gaborik changed his number from 10 to 82. He downplayed the star factor, explaining he was born in 1982.</p><p>But asked if he would switch back, if he had trouble scoring with the No. 82, Gaborik&rsquo;s true feelings came out.</p><p>&ldquo;No, I&rsquo;m sticking with 82,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo;Lots of guys wear 10.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The Wild is outraged over a hit Edmonton defenseman <b>Jason Smith</b> laid on right winger <b>Sergei Krivokrasov</b>, who is expected to miss at least two weeks with asprained knee. The team sent a videotape of the incident to the NHL. Replays showed Smith stuck out his right leg to trip Krivokrasov&hellip; Goaltender Manny Fernandez sprained his right ankle in practice and missed more than a week.</p><p><b>TAKING TURNS</b> Manny Fernandez, right, and Jamie McLennan are sharing the crease duties in Minnesota until one of the netminders emerges as the No. 1 puckstopper.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-02

Minnesota players just Wild about team’s first victory

<div class="byline">- Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03519/7956250-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="209" height="232"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>anadiens&rsquo; players are proving so popular with Montreal surgeons, they&rsquo;re starting to receive 2-for-1 specials. Center Saku Koivu and defenseman Sheldon Souray both went under the knife on the same day.</p><p>Koivu.the oft-injured Habs&rsquo; captain, had the medialcollateral ligament attached to the bone in his left knee.</p><p>Following the one-hour operation conducted by team orthopedist Eric Lenczner, Souray was wheeled into the same operating room, where Dr. Rae Brown discovered a tear high in the abdominal muscle.</p><p>He also worked on Souray&rsquo;s groin and on a form of hernia.</p><p>Montreal&rsquo;s first line pivot, Koivu will be lost anywhere from eight to 12 weeks. Souray likely will be sidelined from eight to 10 weeks.</p><p>Koivu, in his sixth year with the team, hasn&rsquo;t played a full season since he was a rookie. The knee injury isn&rsquo;t considered career-threatening.</p><p>&ldquo;He could come back with a knee stronger than ever before,&rdquo; said chief surgeon David Mulder.</p><p>The Canadiens lost an NHL record 536 man-games to injury last season.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> All signs point to the Canadiens not completing a trade to replace Koivu, especially since coach Alain Vigneault said:&rdquo;We have to go forward with what&rsquo;s left.&rdquo;</p><p>Vigneault has reassembled the line of Sergei Zholtok, Oleg Petrov and Dainius Zubrus, which enjoyed some success last season. Brian Savage, who had been playing on the top line with Koivu and Zubrus, moves to right wing, where he&rsquo;s united with Trevor Linden and Martin Rucinsky. Savage replaces Benoit Brunet, demoted to the third line, with Craig Darby and Jason Ward.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Zubrus was the Canadiens hottest player through the opening two weeks, with five goals in two games, including a hat trick against Chicago Oct. 14. He scored a career-high 14 goals last season.&rdquo;I don&rsquo;t go out there to score goals,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo;I just go out there to play hard every night.&rdquo; Petrov, the left winger on the line, said Zubrus is being too modest.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s better than anybody on this team going for the net,&rdquo; Petrov said.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s so strong, so good at holding the puck.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Center <b>Saku Koivu&rsquo;s</b> list of injuries.over the years reads like the index to Gray&rsquo;s Anatomy: torn knee ligaments (three times); sprained shoulder; strained rib cage; fractured hand; strained abdominal muscles; elbow infection and separated shoulder&hellip;Koivu&rsquo;s latest injury was greeted with panic some players.&rdquo;We need some help,&rdquo; said veteran defenseman <b>Eric Weinrich</b>, who replaced him as captain.&rdquo;Even when Saku was in there we were struggling just to be competitive.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-03

Canadiens captain could miss three months’ action

<div class="byline">- Jeff Legwold</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04369/7956281-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="241" height="227"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>here&rsquo;s a reason Mike Dunham was the first player selected by Nashville in the 1998 expansion draft.&rdquo;He wanted the opportunity to be a No. 1 and we wanted to give it to him,&rdquo; is how GM David Poile often has described the selection from the New Jersey Devils.</p><p>The Predators have waited, sometimes impatiently, for Dunham to round into form. But early in the 2000-01 season, he was at the top of his game.</p><p>After playing just 44 games in 1998-99 because of injuries and 52 last season, Dunham appears to be on track for far more this time around. He is both practising and playing with great resolve and seems well prepared for a team that struggles to score &mdash; especially on the power play &mdash; to lean on him.</p><p>In his first four starts, Dunham had a goals-against average of 0.98 and save percentage of .969 as he started 3-0-1. And for a player who had his conditioning questioned at times after repeated troubles with muscle pulls in his legs in his first season in Nashville, he has come a long way.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> One of the biggest things on Barry Trotz&rsquo;s to-do list was to find a way to split up David Legwand and Cliff Ronning, who played on the Preds&rsquo; first line with Patrie Kjellberg all of last season. The reason to break up the trio is to consistently create scoring chances deeper into the lineup.</p><p>Trotz appears to have found a combination that works.</p><p>Legwand is centering a line with Vitali Yachmenev at right wing and Scott Walker on the left. Walker does the dirty work, Yachmenev moves the puck well and rarely is out of position, while Legwand has speed, drives the net hard and has the ability to finish.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Defenseman Karlis Skrastins, who has been one of the team&rsquo;s best draft picks in its short history &mdash; the 230th player selected in the 1998 entry draft &mdash; and CaleHulse have become effective shot-blockers.</p><p>The two combined to block 10 shots against the Carolina Hurricanes Oct. 14. With Hulse, who was acquired from Calgary last season for Sergei Krivokrasov, the Predators have a little more size along the blueline. Skrastins is playing with Drake Berehowsky as the team&rsquo;s top pairing, while Hulse has been paired with KimmoTimonen.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Right winger <b>Scott Hartnell</b>, Nashville&rsquo;s first pick in the 2000 entry draft, continued to make a case for his remaining with the team. Coach <b>Barry Trotz</b> even used him on the power play to try to snap the team out of its doldrums&hellip;With <b>Randy Robitaille</b> moved to center on a line with right winger <b>Cliff Ronning</b> and left winger <b>Patric Kjellberg</b>, center <b>Greg Johnson</b> has been returned to the checking line with right winger <b>Tom Fitzgerald</b> and left winger <b>Rob Valicevic</b>&hellip;A sign that it&rsquo;s football season: the Preds&rsquo; home opener wasn&rsquo;t a sellout until game day and an Oct. 17 date against the Kings drew 13,954, the second smallest crowd in franchise history. The only smaller one was 13,507 Jan. 4, 1999, when the University of Tennessee played Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-04

Dunham delivering on wish to be first string goaltender

<div class="byline">- Rich Chere</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02788/7956312-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="709" height="1015"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011131/7956319-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="214" height="259"></div><p>Martin Brodeur hadn&rsquo;t found himself riding the pine since since the Jacques Lemaire era.</p><p>For the first time since late in the 1997-98 season, Devils&rsquo; goaltender was pulled from a game because of a less-than-stellar performance in the net.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been over two years &mdash; since Jacques, I guess; it&rsquo;s weird,&rdquo; Brodeur said after he allowed four goals on 11 shots in a 5-2 loss at Washington Oct. 19.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s important we try to stay in the game somehow and that&rsquo;s how (coach Larry Robinson) feels. Personally, it means I don&rsquo;t have to fight a bad night. It ssomething I&rsquo;m used to. It happened with Jacques a lot of times.&rdquo;</p><p>Brodeur was last pulled from a game April 15,1998, when backup Mike Dunham was inserted against the Buffalo Sabres after Brodeur allowed three goals in the first 20 minutes.</p><p>That was the season Dunham was inserted into games by the Devils in what became controversial appearances because they deprived Dunham of off-season free agency status.</p><p>&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t that difficult (a decision),&rdquo; Robinson said.&rdquo;Everybody has a bad night. He&rsquo;s a very strong individual.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Devils have often been criticized for perfecting the neutral-zone trap under Lemaire and falling back on it whenever the situation dictates. They found out just how frustrating it can be to face it when the Atlanta Thrashers earned a 3-3 tie against the defending champs by forming a wall at the blue line.&rdquo;They put four or five guys across the blue line,&rdquo; said Scott Stevens.&rdquo;Some of us are thick-headed and tried to get through.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s impossible. We wound up throwing the puck away. Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky would have a horrible time going through four or five guys.&rdquo;</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> The offense could have used a jolt from a defenseman adept at moving the puck (Scott Niedermayer) or a center who clicks with Czech wingers Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora (Jason Arnott).&rdquo;When we&rsquo;re playing our game, we will score goals,&rdquo; Robinson said. &ldquo;We get our goals when we play good positionally.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Coach <b>Larry Robinson</b> suffered a left hamstring injury when he stepped on a puck during the morning skate Oct. 17&hellip;Defenseman <b>Brian Rafalski</b> was tabbed as the new player rep&hellip;Free, agent defenseman <b>Scott Niedermayer</b> had not asked for a trade, but is&rdquo;pretty upset at what is happening. I&rsquo;d rather be somewhere else than to be unhappy and a thorn in the side of the team.&rdquo;</p><p><b>SLOW START</b> Isles&rsquo; center Dave Scatchard has struggled in 2000-01, but remains a force in the face-off circle.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-02

Workhorse Brodeur gets yanked, first time in almost three years

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Peter Botte</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03635/7956350-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="208" height="247"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>harles Wang and Sanjay Kumar, the Long Island computer moguls who took over operating control of the Islanders this summer, typically received rousing ovations when they appeared to drop the ceremonial first puck at the team&rsquo;s home opener Oct. 13.</p><p>Despite a sleepy 2-0 loss to Calgary before a rare sellout audience at Nassau Coliseum &mdash; and a four-game winless streak (0-3-1-0) to start the season &mdash; there remains a sense of optimism for the future Finally.</p><p>&ldquo;Our first priority is to put a winningteam on the ice,&rdquo; said Wang, who authorized a first-year payroll bump from barely $15 million last season to more than $25 million. &ldquo;Like in any sports business, you want to win. And we want to win big. But everyone has to be patient with us.&rdquo;</p><p>The Islanders sold out only four games in 1999-2000 &mdash; twice against the rival Rangers &mdash; when they averaged an NHL-low 9,748 in announced attendance. Their season-ticket base has risen to roughly 6,000, up from last year&rsquo;s lowly 3,500 figure, an increase of more than 70 per cent.</p><p>But there is still a long way to go for the new owners to win back the fans. Only 6,336 showed up three nights later for a 4-3 home loss to Anaheim.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The circus usually comes to Nassau Coliseum for a few weeks every spring. Perhaps head coach Butch Goring can apply for a job as a juggler.</p><p>Barely one week into the season, all nine forwards on the top three lines had been moved around in hopes of sparking an attack that scored only 14 goals in the team&rsquo;s first 10 games &mdash; a 0-5-1-0 pre-season and 0-3-1-0 regular season start. In their first game together as a line, three slumping forwards &mdash; second-year center Tim Connolly and wingers Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish &mdash; combined for three goals. Goring also begrudgingly broke up his top defensive pairing. Kenny Jonsson and Roman Hamrlik, in hopes of balancing the team&rsquo;s attack.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Goring and GM Mike Milbury expected the additions of defensemen Hamrlik and Garry Galley and forwards Parrish and Kvasha would boost a power play unit that ranked 23rd in the NHL last season. But the Isles&rsquo; disorganized unit opened the season without a goal in 22 opportunities in its first four games, by far the worst in the NHL.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Right winger <b>Bill Muckalt</b> will be sidelined four-to-six weeks with a dislocated right shoulder suffered in an Oct. 13 game against Anaheim. Muckalt, 26, missed the final 40 games last season due to left shoulder surgery.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-03

New owners promise new hope, but Islanders continue to sink

<div class="byline">- Rick Carpiniello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04455/7956381-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="211" height="250"></div><p>The Rangers were happy to get their No. 1 goalie back, but had no complaints with his replacement.</p><p>Mike Richter was ready to return from reconstructive left knee surgery Oct. 22 against Tampa Bay after a commendable job from backup Kirk McLean while Richter finished his rehab.</p><p>McLean went 3-2 and was outstanding in the three victories. He did allow eight goals in an 8-6 loss in Pittsburgh, but that was a night when the Rangers completely melted down and allowed Jaromir Jagr to set a career high with four goals. McLean&rsquo;s teammates also let him down in a 4-3 loss to Anaheim. In his three wins, McLean allowed one goal to Atlanta, one to Montreal and two to Chicago, in a game that he faced 40 shots (20 of those in the third period).</p><p>&ldquo;Hang that one on him,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; coach Ron Low.&rdquo;That was Kirk&rsquo;s win. He has done a great job for us.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Low was worried about the Rangers&rsquo; commitment to defensive-zone play during the preseason. Then came the games against Pittsburgh and Anaheim, when they continually failed to finish checks, and worse, turned away from snipers such as Jagr and Paul Kariya in dangerous shooting positions.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if it&rsquo;s nerves or what,&rdquo; Low said.&rdquo;It seems we&rsquo;re gripping the stick awful tight. But a veteran hockey club shouldn&rsquo;t be nervous or uptight.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> With Vladimir Malakhov out three more weeks due to a sprained left knee suffered on opening night, the Rangers were auditioning players to play on their third defense pair with Rich Pilon. In the season&rsquo;s first five games, Pilon had played with four different partners &mdash; Brad Brown, Jason Doig, David Wilkie and Drew Bannister. Pilon also spent time with Stephane Quintal (now with Chicago) and Dale Purinton in the pre-season. Rookie Mike Mottau, who started slowly at Hartford of the American League, was making progress and seemed to be the next logical step.</p><p>&ldquo;Mike Mottau might not be ready for us right now, but we might be ready for him,&rdquo; Low said.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The Rangers were jumping aboard the Subway Series baseball bandwagon. During an open practice Oct. 21, the team wore Mets and Yankees jerseys&hellip;Defenseman <b>Brian Leetch</b> recorded his 600th assist in an Oct. 14 game in Pittsburgh and was 15 short of <b>Rod Gilbert&rsquo;s</b> team record&hellip;Captain <b>Mark Messier</b> was scheduled to play his 1,488th game Oct. 27, which would push him ahead of former teammate <b>Wayne Gretzky</b> into sixth on the all-time list&hellip;Winger <b>Valeri Kamensky</b> had two goals in his first two games. Last year, mostly because of injuries, he didn&rsquo;t get his second goal until Jan. 15. Meanwhile, right winger <b>Theo Fleury</b> had four goals in the first five games, after scoring just 15 all of last season&hellip;The Rangers&rsquo; power play was a league-leading 9-for-25 (36 per cent) through four games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-04

Rangers welcome Richter back after ‘great job’ from McLean

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011115/7956433-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="256" height="289"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Scott Pellerin Minnesota</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>U</span>nlike the New Jersey franchise, which waited 829 games for its first penalty shot, Columbus and Minnesota were awarded freebies quickly &mdash; in their fifth games, in fact. Listed are expansion teams since 1990, first season, game number of first penalty shot, shooter and result.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02770/7956426-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="916" height="238"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03560/7956419-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="910" height="190"></div><p>* Atlanta has not had a penalty shot through their first 86 games</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04384/7956412-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="253" height="283"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Sergei Makarov San Jose</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0028-01

IN ALL ALONE

<div class="byline">- Bruce Garrioch</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05292/7956464-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="214" height="259"></div><p>It was a win-win situation for Jacques Martin early in 2000-01.</p><p>His Ottawa Senators were frequent winners on the ice, going undefeated in their first six games (4-0-2-0). And Martin won a two-year, $1.8million contract extension that will keep him behind the Senators&rsquo; bench until the end of 200203. The deal will place Martin among the top 10 paid coaches in the NHL next year.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pleased. This is my home,&rdquo; said Martin, 48.&rdquo;We were able to work this out because I wanted to stay here and they wanted to keep me. When that was decided, all we had to do was get the details done.&rdquo;</p><p>Said Senators&rsquo; president Roy Mlakar,&rdquo;I believe we&rsquo;ve got the best coach in the league here and when you have good people you want to keep them as part of your organization.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Rookie right winger Martin Havlat is making things tough on Ottawa&rsquo;s decisionmakers. Some thought the 19-year-old would be returned to play this season in the Czech Republic, but his play is changing minds. Havlat scored two goals in three games and had the second-most ice time among Sens&rsquo; forwards in a 3-3 tie with Pittsburgh Oct. 19. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know much about him, but from what I had been told he had a chance to make our team,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;I think he has done a good job.&rdquo; Havlat was playing on the third line with center Vaclav Prospal and left winger Magnus Arvedson because of an injury to captain Daniel Alfredsson.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> The return of center Alexei Yashin has been the key to the Senators&rsquo; early-season success. Not only was he scoring (three goals, seven points in six games), but his presence had created a domino effect among the other forwards. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re getting contributions from everybody,&rdquo; Alfredsson said. &ldquo;That has been the key for us. We&rsquo;ve got everybody playing well and we just have to keep it going.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Rookie goalie <b>Jani Hurme</b> earned a 6-1 win in his first NHL start, Oct. 17 against Philadelphia. Hurme got the call after <b>Patrick Lalime</b> went down Oct. 14 with a sprained left knee injury. Lalime is scheduled to be out until late October. Rookie <b>Mathieu Chouinard</b> was recalled from the Grand Rapids (IHL) to serve as Hurme&rsquo;s backup&hellip;Center <b>Radek Bonk</b>, who put on a visor after the <b>Bryan Berard</b> incident last season, has decided to take it off.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0028-05

Two more years for coach Martin

<div class="byline">- Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01989/7956495-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="214" height="235"></div><p>What was John LeClair reading on his flight to Los Angeles to undergo back surgery in mid-October?</p><p>Newspaper? Magazine? Ormaybe the contract &mdash; believed to be $35 million over four years &mdash; the Flyers offered him in training camp.</p><p>LeClair, working on a one-year, $7-million contract via arbitration, and agent Lewis Gross turned down that offer and said they didn&rsquo;t want to negotiate once the season began.</p><p>But with LeClair sidelined for at least six weeks and the prospect of long-term security suddenly looking a lot better, perhaps the moratorium will come to an end.</p><p>&ldquo;I think that John hurt his back playing for us,&rdquo; said GM Bob Clarke.&rdquo;So we certainly wouldn&rsquo;t pull anything off the table or not try to sign him. I don&rsquo;t know if John will accept it, but I certainly feel strongly we have to try and sign him.&rdquo;</p><p>Said LeClair:&rdquo;That (contract) is the least of my worries. My whole focus right now is to work as hard as I can to come back.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> With LeClair sidelined, the rest of the Flyers know they have to pick up the slack.&rdquo;It will be tough to replace Johnny,&rdquo; said defenseman Luke Richardson.&rdquo;Not just the goals he contributes every year, but the leadership on and off the ice.&rdquo; Young players such as Simon Gagne will get more ice time.&rdquo;We have to play like we did last year in the playoffs without (Eric) Lindros,&rdquo; Gagne said.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Coach Craig Ramsay decided to take some of the pressure off goalie Brian Boucher (4.63 GAA, .828 save percentage) by starting backup Roman Cechmanek against Montreal Oct. 19 (a 3-3 tie).&rdquo;I want Brian to relax and calm down,&rdquo; Ramsay said.&rdquo;I don&rsquo;t want him to feel like he&rsquo;s the only player out there.&rdquo; Said Boucher:&rdquo;I&rsquo;m not stopping the puck and it&rsquo;s not hitting me.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Back specialist <b>Dr.Robert Watkins</b> was scheduled to perform the Oct. 21 surgery on left winger <b>John LeClair</b>, who is having a disc repaired in his lower back&hellip;Right <b>Mark Recchi</b> had missed four straight games through Oct. 19. He was still suffering the after-effects of a head injury he received Oct. 5&hellip;GM <b>Bob Clarke</b> reiterated he would like to resign <b>Eric Lindros,</b> but <b>Gordon Kirke</b>, the lawyer for the disgruntled center, said his client isn&rsquo;t interested.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-01

Will injured LeClair consider new deal?

<div class="byline">- Bob McManaman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02658/7956526-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="214" height="265"></div><p>Mike Barnett has said&rdquo;no&rdquo; to Wayne Gretzky &mdash; for the time being, at least.</p><p>But that doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean Bobby Smith&rsquo;s job as GM of the Coyotes still isn&rsquo;t up from grabs.</p><p>When Gretzky finally completes his purchase of the Coyotes along with partner Steve Ellman and an armada of investors, it&rsquo;s widely believed one of The Great One&rsquo;s first moves will be replacing Smith with a new GM.</p><p>Barnett, Gretzky&rsquo;s agent and close friend for 21 years, backed out of a standing offer to join the Phoenix front office and said that, for now, he will remain a player agent. That could change in the near future, but it appears Gretzky may have to look elsewhere for a new right-hand man.</p><p>Cliff Fletcher might assume the post on an interim basis, but he&rsquo;d prefer to remain a senior consultant. Gretzky hired him in August as an executive vice-president and Fletcher has been his eyes and ears during the tedious ownership transition.</p><p>Another potential hire is John Muckier, a Gretzky confidante who is presently unemployed.</p><p>Gretzky reiterated he won&rsquo;t assume the job himself, but all major moves and decisions will go through him.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Coyotes&rsquo; power play, which finished next-to-last in the league each of the past two seasons, was hot during the team&rsquo;s franchise-record 5-1-0-0 start. Phoenix connected nine times on its first 28 opportunities (32 per cent) and a big reason for that could be attributed to coach Bobby Francis&rsquo; decision to use forwards Jeremy Roenick and Shane Doan at the points. It hadn&rsquo;t represented a defensive risk, either. The Coyotes had yet to give up any shorthanded goals or many shorthanded chances.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> With two goals and five points in his first five games, right winger Landon Wilson surpassed the totals he had all of last season in 40 games with Boston, where he finished with one goal and three assists. Wilson, 25, has become a mainstay on the Coyotes&rsquo; checking line.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Center <b>Daniel Briere</b> went back to the minors to get playing time after clearing waivers Oct. 20. The Coyotes are stocked at center and Briere has been bothered by nagging injuries since the start of training camp.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-02

Fletcher, Muckier could fill future void

<div class="byline">- Joe Starkey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03449/7956557-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="211" height="262"></div><p>Imagine what might happen when Jaromir Jagr gets his hands back.</p><p>The Penguins&rsquo; captain is off to another scorching start &mdash; he had six goals and four assists in six games &mdash; but he says there is room for improvement.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have the hands I want,&rdquo; Jagr said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had so many scoring chances, but my shot is not where I want it to be.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s because Jagr couldn&rsquo;t work out as often as he likes during the summer.</p><p>&ldquo;My shoulder was very hurt,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo;Two months back, I couldn&rsquo;t lift anything. Then I was concentrating on healing my injuries. Now I&rsquo;m coming back. I&rsquo;m going to start working on my upper body. Hopefully, the shot&rsquo;s going to come back.&rdquo;</p><p>Jagr had the first four-goal game of his career in an 8-6 win over the Rangers Oct. 14.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Penguins&rsquo; second line of right winger Alexei Kovalev, center Martin Straka and left winger Robert Lang combined for seven goals and 20 points in the first six games of the season. Strong play from the second line helps divert defensive attention from Jagr on the top line. Jagr had not seen a defensive shadow early in the season, partly because of the team&rsquo;s balance and partly because of the NHL&rsquo;s rules crackdown.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Coach Ivan Hlinka has given no indication as to how &mdash; or if &mdash; he&rsquo;ll rotate goalies Jean-Sebastien Aubin and Garth Snow. Aubin played the first five games of the season and won three of them, posting a 2.81 goals-against average and .897 save percentage. Snow, who was signed Oct. 10, made his debut Oct. 19 at Ottawa and stopped 31 of 34 shots after a rough first period.&rdquo;They&rsquo;ll both play,&rdquo; Hlinka said.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Defenseman <b>Ian Moran</b> injured his knee Oct. 18 against Carolina when he got tangled up along the boards with Hurricanes&rsquo; winger <b>Sami Kapanen</b>. Moran was awaiting results of an MRI&hellip;The Penguins went 2-1-1 in their first four games back from Japan. Right winger <b>Jaromir Jagr</b> said they avoided a letdown because they had fun in Tokyo.&rdquo;You&rsquo;re always tired if you don&rsquo;t have a good time,&rdquo; Jagr said.&rdquo;You can go to the Bahamas and if you don&rsquo;t have a good time, you&rsquo;re tired. But we went there, we had a great time and everybody was excited about it.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-03

‘A’ shot AWOL, but Jagr scoring

<div class="byline">- Dave Luecking</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02751/7956588-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="730" height="1024"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011114/7956595-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="211" height="253"></div><p>The Blues are loaded with plenty of offensive firepower, but on the power play St. Louis has looked powerless.</p><p>After being stuck in a l-for-19 rut, the Blues regained their strength with three goals on seven man advantages in a 7-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings Oct. 19.</p><p>Dallas Drake, and defensemen Al Maclnnis and Chris Pronger all scored to help the Blues&rsquo; power play get back on track. After seven games, St. Louis was 7-for-47 (14.9 per cent), 18th best in the NHL. Last year, the regular season champions had the sixth-best power play unit (17.8 per cent).</p><p>&ldquo;This was our best game of the year and it was a great effort by everybody,&rdquo; Blues&rsquo; coach Joel Quenneville said after the game.</p><p>The Blues controlled the puck in the offensive zone, made quick passes and opened passing lanes.</p><p>&ldquo;We need that puck movement to get their box moving and tiring them out,&rdquo; Pronger said.&rdquo;Then we&rsquo;re able to get the seam passes to create opportunities.&rdquo;</p><p>In previous games, particularly a 2-1 loss in Detroit Oct. 17 in which the Blues were 0-for-6, St. Louis had trouble setting up in the zone much less getting a shot on goal.</p><p>Pronger had called the power play&rdquo;gross&rdquo; and said&rdquo;maybe we don&rsquo;t want any power plays the way our power play is going.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Center Pierre Turgeon got into the coach&rsquo;s dog house and received a temporary demotion after a poor game in Detroit. Quenneville dropped Turgeon to the fourth line and the second power play unit against the Kings. A strong first shift by Turgeon prompted his return to the first line.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Seven different players scored in their 7-1 victory over Los Angeles indicating their balanced scoring. A dozen skaters had scored at least one goal this season, led by NHL leader Scott Young with seven.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> With the return of defenseman <b>Vladimir Chebaturkin</b> and center <b>Michal Handzus</b> from the injured reserve list. 21-year-old rookies <b>Mike Van Ryn, a defenseman,</b> and <b>Ladislav Nagy</b>, <b>a center</b>, were sent to Worcester (AHL)&hellip;Captain <b>Chris Pronger</b> had the fourth four-point game of his career versus L.A.</p><p><b>MONEY MINUTES</b> Blueliner Sean Hill is logging nearly 19 minutes per game for St. Louis, who signed him to a four-year, $9-million deal in July.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-02

Blues hit right note on power play after early-season power outage

<div class="byline">- Ross McKeon</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03531/7956626-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="208" height="259"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>O</span>wnership&rsquo;s willingness to go the extra step and Owen Nolan&rsquo;s decision to commit long term unlocked a contract impasse between the two parties, leading to an unprecedented deal that will keep the team captain in San Jose through the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2004.</p><p>Nolan&rsquo;s five-year deal, which includes an option for a sixth year, means in addition to extending beyond a possible work stoppage in 2004-05, the 28-year-old power forward is giving up the option of testing the unrestricted free agent waters for possibly as many as three years. His deal averages approximately $6 million annually.</p><p>&ldquo;I was with Quebec a long time,&rdquo; said Nolan, who played five-plus seasons with the Nordique franchise before being traded by Colorado to San Jose Sandis Ozolinsh in October, 1995.&rdquo;I saw what it was like to be on the miserable end. When I got here, it was pretty rough. But they&rsquo;re committed to winning here and I want to be part of it.&rdquo;</p><p>Sharks&rsquo; majority owner George Gund and team president Greg Jamison approved the wording in the longest deal awarded a San Jose player. It gives Nolan the right to extend his contract by one year if the NHL plays a schedule of 40-or-fewer games in 2004-05.</p><p>&ldquo;When you are willing to go with term, you can make the money work,&rdquo; said GM Dean Lombardi.&rdquo;(Gund and Jamison) felt strongly that we needed to get it done. That combined with Owen&rsquo;s commitment for the long term (sealed the deal).&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> After a flat effort in the season opener, coach Darryl Sutter switched three of his forward lines with the trio of Scott Thornton, Mike Ricci and NiklasSundstrom carrying the Sharks to consecutive wins over Phoenix and Boston Oct. 12 and 14.</p><p>&ldquo;We looked good,&rdquo; Ricci said.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s all a matter of playing consistent.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> There&rsquo;s no panic with the early-season loss of goalie Steve Shields to a high right ankle sprain. Backup Evgeni Nabokov has Sutter&rsquo;s confidence despite starting just four of 41 games following a mid-season promotion last year. He stopped 21 of 23 shots to win in his season debut, Oct. 14 against Boston. The Sharks recalled Finnish prospect Miikka Kiprusofffrom Kentucky of the American League.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The Hockey Hall of Fame requested a pair of gloves and a stick used by center <b>VincentDamphousse</b> from the Oct. 14 game against Boston in which he earned his 1,000th career point&hellip;Inthe same game, right winger <b>Marco Sturm</b> became the third player in club history to score two shorthanded goals, joining <b>Jamie Baker</b> (Jan. 6,1996) and Damphousse (April 30,1999).<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-03

Captain Nolan $6-million dollar man after biggest deal in Sharks history

<div class="byline">- Damian Cristodero</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04368/7956657-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="211" height="253"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>or those Lightning fans who have yearned to see the team perched atop the NHL &mdash; in any category &mdash; there was cause for celebration two weeks into the season because Tampa Bay led the league in penalty killing.</p><p>The Lightning killed off its first 26 shorthanded situations in its first four games when it was the only team to have not allowed a power play goal</p><p>Tampa Bay was ranked 22nd last season, with an 80.7 per-cent efficiency.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying not to sit back and let the power play take it to us,&rdquo; said forward Ryan Johnson.&rdquo;We want to pressure them as much as we can in their zone. We want to get them running around.&rdquo;</p><p>Associate coach John Torchetti said they&rsquo;ve been able to disrupt the opposition in its zone, blocking more shots and forcing the play away from the slot. Tampa has also received good goaltending from Kevin Weekes and Dan Cloutier.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something everyone is looking at,&rdquo; Torchetti said.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s quite a feat.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The penalty-killing unit took a bit of a blow Oct. 13 against Pittsburgh when forward Stan Drulia, 32, one of Tampa&rsquo;s smartest players, broke his left hand after blocking a slap shot and was expected to miss two-to-three weeks. Forward Sheldon Keefe was called up from the Detroit Vipers of the International League to take Drulia&rsquo;s place on the fourth line.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Coach Steve Ludzik said he wants to get into a consistent rotation with Weekes and Cloutier,&rdquo;but sometimes you have to go with your gut.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s why Weekes started three consecutive games after Cloutier started the first two. Ludzik was pleased with both so far, but Cloutier was disappointed.</p><p>&ldquo;I was pissed off, but there&rsquo;s nothing I could do about it,&rdquo; Cloutier said.&rdquo;All I can do is just keep working hard.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> What was Pittsburgh defenseman <b>Bob Boughner</b> thinking when he crosschecked center <b>Vince Lecavalier</b> across the back as the Lightning captain celebrated his first goal of the season?&rdquo;I guess he thinks he can crosscheck a guy five minutes after the play,&rdquo; Lecavalier said.&rdquo;I didn&rsquo;t think it was right. The play was over. He almost broke my back.&rdquo; Boughner got two minutes each for roughing and cross-checking. Lecavalier, who retaliated, got two for roughing&hellip;How do you shake up Penguins right winger <b>Jaromir Jagr</b>? According to Lightning defenseman and fellow Czech <b>Pavel Kubina</b>, you&rdquo;talk to him in his own language and put him down.&rdquo; What do you say?&rdquo;I don&rsquo;t want to talk about it,&rdquo; Kubina laughed.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s nothing good about it.&rdquo;&hellip;1999 second round draft pick and former Barrie Colts&rsquo; right winger <b>Sheldon Keefe</b> led the OHL in scoring last year with 121 points in 66 games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-04

Surprise! Lightning strike atop NHL …but only as top penalty killers

<div class="byline">- Ken Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011027/7956688-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="214" height="256"></div><p>It seemed fitting the quickest draw in hockey made his debut in Western Canada.</p><p>Yanic Perreault, the NHL&rsquo;s best faceoff man last season, returned to the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; lineup Oct. 19 against Edmonton after missing six months with surgery on his left knee. And if his performance in the faceoff circle was any indication, Perreault hadn&rsquo;t missed a beat.</p><p>In a 4-1 win, Perreault won the first draw he took and 11 of 15 for a game-high 73 per-cent success rate.</p><p>&ldquo;It felt good, but my timing is off a bit,&rdquo; Perreault said.&rdquo;It probably took me a second too long to make plays, but I didn&rsquo;t think about my knee.&rdquo;</p><p>The Leafs were a better team with Perreault in the lineup. Now they will wait until Nik Antropov returns from right knee surgery in late-November.</p><p>To make room on the roster, the Leafs placed center Alyn McCauley on the injury list, retroactive to Oct. 11 when he jammed his left wrist.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> When the Leafs acquired Gary Roberts over the summer it was speculated he would be Mats Sundin&rsquo;s left winger, but coach-GM Pat Quinn opted to start the season with last year&rsquo;s No. 1 line of Sundin between Steve Thomas and Jonas Hoglund intact.</p><p>After the Leafs scored just eight goals in five games, Quinn moved the pointless Roberts to the top line for the Edmonton game and he responded with his first goal. Sundin had two goals and Thomas three assists.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> In two seasons, the Leafs have scored 514 goals, second only to Detroit&rsquo;s 523. But the Leafs were not an juggernaut through six games, scoring just 12 goals.</p><p>Much of the reason for the lack of offense was the Leafs were spending too much time chasing the puck and not enough time with it.</p><p>&ldquo;If the puck is in your end for 30 minutes,&rdquo; Roberts said,&rdquo;and in the neutral zone for another 15, that doesn&rsquo;t leave too much time for offense.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Since <b>Curtis Joseph</b> left Edmonton to sign with Toronto as a free agent just over two years ago, he has a 7-0-0 record against Edmonton (and 14-2-2 all-time)&hellip;Rookie defenseman <b>Petr Svoboda</b> had sat out two straight games, despite the fact he was second among team defensemen in scoring with a goal and two points.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-01

Quick-draw Perreault makes timely return

<div class="byline">- Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02678/7956719-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="216" height="258"></div><p>After sailing through camp and the first two weeks of the season without an injury, the Vancouver were dealt a blow in mid-October.</p><p>Defenseman Mattias Ohlund, who helped Vancouver to a 5-2-0 start, required a third surgical procedure on the right eye that was damaged Sept. 21,1999, when it was hit by a deflected puck.</p><p>Regular monitoring showed the pressure behind Ohlund&rsquo;s eye had increased to twice the normal level.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not an emergency, but it&rsquo;s something he needs,&rdquo; said team doctor Bill Regan.&rdquo;If he doesn&rsquo;t get it done now, there&rsquo;s nothing that would happen overnight. But a year from now, there could be an effect.&rdquo;</p><p>Ohlund, 24, was not wearing a visor when he sustained the original injury during a preseason game in Ottawa. He missed the first three months of last season.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m disappointed,&rdquo; said Ohlund, who is expected to be sidelined until at least mid-November. &ldquo;It was under control the whole summer and we felt I could play the whole season, then take care of it after the season.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> With Mark Messier and Alexander Mogilny gone, the Canucks promised a balanced attack. After seven games, 16 players had at least one goal. The first line, led by Markus Naslund&rsquo;s six goals, had connected nine times; the Sedin twins, with Trent Klatt, scored five; while the other two units had four apiece. Defensemen had scored five goals.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Signed to be a backup, Bob Essensa was performing like a No. 1. The 35-year-old was 3-0-0, a somewhat remarkable feat since he had just two starts. But things were going so well for Essensa that in the one game he relieved Felix Potvin, the Canucks rallied for three late goals to beat Tampa Bay 5-4.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The NHL wants left winger <b>Donald Brashear</b> to stop his hand-wiping gesture after fights. Brashear performed his &lsquo;dusting&rsquo; routine after an Oct. 12 fight with Colorado&rsquo;s <b>Greg de Vries</b>. It was the same motion he gave Boston&rsquo;s <b>Marty McSorley</b> in that fateful Feb. 21 game. NHL disciplinarian <b>Colin Campbell</b> called Canucks&rsquo; GM <b>Brian Burke</b> with a request that Brashear cut it out. Burke said he had no intention of doing so.&rdquo;I told Colie until there&rsquo;s a rule prohibiting it, don&rsquo;t bug my guy,&rdquo; Burke stated.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-02

Ohlund eye setback nasty surprise

<div class="byline">- Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03502/7956750-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="214" height="260"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Washington Capitals are howling mad after right winger Richard Zednik was given a four-game suspension for crosschecking Colorado defenseman Adam Foote across the nose while trying &mdash; the Caps maintain &mdash; to defend himself.</p><p>The incident came in overtime of the game (won 4-3 by Colorado) when goalie Patrick Roy bettered the record for career wins (448). Just 56 seconds after Zednik got a major for Crosschecking, the Avs scored a power play goal.</p><p>The Caps are upset for two reasons: 1) They claim Foote mugged Zednik and should have received a major, and 2) Jan Bulis was tripped by Foote 12 seconds earlier while chasing a puck beside Roy&rsquo;s cage and had that penalty been called, there would have been no confrontation.</p><p>The suspension, Zednik&rsquo;s second in his career, came at a terrible time. The team was off to an 0-3-2-1 start and had scored just 11 goals in six games. Zednik had been his usual energetic self, creating chances but not able to finish.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Right winger Peter Bondra has asked for a trade but offers to the Caps&rsquo; liking have not materialized.</p><p>Bondra is doing all he can to help speed the situation, off to an excellent start with five goals in seven games and a plus-2 rating. He has been aggressive and focused on the ice and playing like the Bondra of his better years.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re answering the phone,&rdquo; said GM George McPhee.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Center Adam Oates, 38, is not playing anything like his age. He had two goals and six points in seven games and an assist on a Bondra goal Oct. 19 was his 900th in his 16-year NHL career. His goal is 1,000 career assists and to do it&rdquo;it means the same pace of production for two more years and staying healthy.&rdquo;If I do it, great,&rdquo; he said.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Rookie defenseman <b>JakubCutta</b>, 18, made a positive impression, but it was felt he needed another year of experience and was returned to Swift Current of the Western League. That created an opening for <b>Dmitri Mironov</b> to be brought back from Houston (IHL)&hellip;Only 13,335 fans turned out for Colorado goalie <b>Patrick Roy&rsquo;s</b> historic game at the MCI Center, embarrassingly small considering the significance. The magnitude of the game wasn&rsquo;t promoted on Washington TV or radio stations.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-03

Caps feel shafted by Zednik ruling

<p>Projected defense pairs and lines, including restricted free agents</p><h2><b>Anaheim Mighty Ducks</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011097/7956984-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="581" height="488"></div><h2><b>Carolina Hurricanes</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02741/7956977-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="589" height="492"></div><h2><b>Detroit Red Wings</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03535/7956970-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="605" height="520"></div><h2><b>Montreal Canadiens</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04378/7956963-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="597" height="524"></div><h2><b>Ottawa Senators</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05291/7956956-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="601" height="492"></div><h2><b>San Jose Sharks</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-06243/7956949-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="597" height="492"></div><h2><b>Atlanta Thrashers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-07206/7956942-1-eng-US/f0032-072.jpg" title="f0032-07" width="601" height="524"></div><h2><b>Chicago Blackhawks</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-08177/7956935-1-eng-US/f0032-082.jpg" title="f0032-08" width="585" height="516"></div><h2><b>Edmonton Oilers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-09148/7956928-1-eng-US/f0032-092.jpg" title="f0032-09" width="589" height="480"></div><h2><b>Nashville Predators</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-10124/7956921-1-eng-US/f0032-102.jpg" title="f0032-10" width="597" height="512"></div><h2><b>Philadelphia Flyers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-11107/7956914-1-eng-US/f0032-112.jpg" title="f0032-11" width="593" height="520"></div><h2><b>Tamoa Bay Lightning</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1296/7956907-1-eng-US/f0032-122.jpg" title="f0032-12" width="585" height="576"></div><h2><b>Boston Bruins</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1388/7956900-1-eng-US/f0032-132.jpg" title="f0032-13" width="592" height="524"></div><h2><b>Colorado Avalanche</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1476/7956893-1-eng-US/f0032-142.jpg" title="f0032-14" width="600" height="504"></div><h2><b>Florida Panthers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1568/7956886-1-eng-US/f0032-152.jpg" title="f0032-15" width="592" height="500"></div><h2><b>New Jersey Devils</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1664/7956879-1-eng-US/f0032-162.jpg" title="f0032-16" width="592" height="528"></div><h2><b>Phoenix Coyotes</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1751/7956872-1-eng-US/f0032-172.jpg" title="f0032-17" width="592" height="492"></div><h2><b>Toronto Maple Leafs</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1839/7956865-1-eng-US/f0032-182.jpg" title="f0032-18" width="596" height="528"></div><h2><b>Buffalo Sabres</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1935/7956858-1-eng-US/f0032-192.jpg" title="f0032-19" width="589" height="528"></div><h2><b>Columbus Blue Jackets</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-2032/7956851-1-eng-US/f0032-202.jpg" title="f0032-20" width="605" height="524"></div><h2><b>Los Angeles Kings</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-2129/7956844-1-eng-US/f0032-212.jpg" title="f0032-21" width="589" height="524"></div><h2><b>New York Islanders</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-2227/7956837-1-eng-US/f0032-222.jpg" title="f0032-22" width="589" height="484"></div><h2><b>Pittsburgh Penguins</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-2326/7956830-1-eng-US/f0032-232.jpg" title="f0032-23" width="585" height="508"></div><h2><b>Vancouver Canucks</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-2423/7956823-1-eng-US/f0032-242.jpg" title="f0032-24" width="589" height="492"></div><h2><b>Calgary Flames</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-2519/7956816-1-eng-US/f0032-252.jpg" title="f0032-25" width="605" height="524"></div><h2><b>Dallas Stars</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-2617/7956809-1-eng-US/f0032-262.jpg" title="f0032-26" width="597" height="512"></div><h2><b>Minnesota Wild</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-2716/7956802-1-eng-US/f0032-272.jpg" title="f0032-27" width="585" height="492"></div><h2><b>New York Rangers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-2813/7956795-1-eng-US/f0032-282.jpg" title="f0032-28" width="589" height="488"></div><h2><b>St. Louis Blues</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-2912/7956788-1-eng-US/f0032-292.jpg" title="f0032-29" width="593" height="528"></div><h2><b>Washington Capitals</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-309/7956781-1-eng-US/f0032-302.jpg" title="f0032-30" width="589" height="524"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0032-01

NHL DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><p><b>Jimmy Waite</b></p><p>A year ago, netminder Jimmy Waite was the lone bright spot for the St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs. This year, he&rsquo;s been unable to play because he&rsquo;s seeing spots.</p><p>Waite missed the first two weeks of the American League season because of vertigo, an ailment that causes dizziness whenever he makes quick movements with his head or when he exercises.</p><p>That in itself is trouble some for the 13-year pro. What&rsquo;s more aggravating is that doctors haven&rsquo;t determined the cause.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather have a broken finger or something &mdash; at least then I&rsquo;d know what to do with it and the time frame,&rdquo; said Waite, who went 20-37-4 with a 3.05 goals-against average and six shutouts in 62 games last season for a team that was an AHL-worst 23-45-8-4.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01996/7957015-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="268" height="334"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Jimmy Watte</b></figcaption></div><p>Waite, 31, suffered a three-week bout of vertigo last season. Doctors said it was likely caused from a blow to the head, either from a shot or a collision.</p><p>&ldquo;I told the doctor I don&rsquo;t remember getting hit and he said it didn&rsquo;t have to be a hard hit,&rdquo; Waite said.&rdquo;What happens is particles in the inner ear are in the wrong place. He said even a minor hit could have done it.&rdquo;</p><p>The problem resurfaced at the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; camp and this time Waite was told he may have had a virus. He couldn&rsquo;t play any pre-season games and then had to sit out the start of the AHL season.</p><p>&ldquo;Quick movement with my head, like moving back and forth to follow the play behind the net, I get dizzy for maybe five seconds and then I&rsquo;m fine,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Mike Minard and Jamie Hodson shared goaltending duties. Minard was carrying the team (4-1-0, 2.29 GAA) while Hodson, a rookie, was pulled in two of three starts.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

St. John’s goalie must Waite and see

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02681/7957067-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="256" height="253"></div><h2><b><u>NOTEBOOK</u></b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he major port for the U.S. Navy is in Norfolk, Va., and the Albany River Rats went for a little cruise aboard a destroyer on the afternoon of their Oct. 11 game against the Admirals.</p><p>How else can their 60 minutes of on-ice seasickness be explained? The River Rats were on the embarrassing end of an American League record for largest discrepancy in shots on goal &mdash; 49-7 &mdash; as Norfolk trounced Albany 6-1.</p><p>&ldquo;We had nobody skating &mdash; one guy had the puck and the other four were watching,&rdquo; said Albany coach <b>John Cunniff</b>, whose club was outshot by period 15-2,19-2 and 15-3.</p><p>Admirals&rsquo; center <b>Mark Bell</b> outshot Albany by himself, 8-7, and Norfolk goalie <b>Jeff Maund</b> was bored silly.&rdquo;I had the best seat in the house,&rdquo; Maund said.</p><p><b>VANDY IS DANDY</b> Peter <b>Vandermeer</b> has spent the past three seasons trying to earn a permanent job in the AHL, bouncing in and out of Rochester and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and then back to the East Coast League or United League.</p><p>But he may have finally found a home in the AHL &mdash; and not by fighting on the checking line. The gritty Vandermeer earned a job in camp with the Providence Bruins and early in the season, he shared the club lead in goals with four in five games.</p><p>&ldquo;The pucks are going off me,&rdquo; said vanaermeer, whose best AHL season was four goals in 30 games with Rochester in 1997-98.</p><p><b>DOG HAS BITE</b></p><p>Hartford coach <b>John Paddock</b> has never been one to sugar-coat his words.</p><p>A 9-4 loss to Providence in the home opener caused him some distress and when the Wolf Pack lost 3-1 at Providence six days later, his patience was spent.</p><p>Said Paddock: &ldquo;We wanted to play a nice game and score nice goals. Our forwards were atrocious, did nothing extra to win. They were brutal.&rdquo;</p><p><b>AHL TIDBITS</b> Saint John right winger <b>Rico Fata</b> had no goals on 23 shots in his first five games. He scored 29 last year in 76 games&hellip; Philadelphia right winger <b>Jesse Boulerice</b> was suspended six games and left winger <b>Todd Fedoruk</b> three games for coming off the bench to brawl against Albany Oct. 15 as the second period ended.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03524/7957060-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="1327" height="1780"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Quebec&rsquo;s Andrei Bashkirov is among the early-season point leaders in the AHL.</i></figcaption></div><h2><b>AHL SCOUTING REPORT</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04413/7957053-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="328" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Ivan Novoseltsev</b></figcaption></div><p><b>VITAL STATISTICS</b></p><p>Hometown: Golitsino, Rus. Age: 21</p><p>Size: 6-1,213</p><p><b>LAST AMATEUR CLUB</b></p><p>Sarnia Sting (OHL)</p><p><b>POSITION</b> Center</p><p><b>2000-01 SEASON</b></p><p>Louisville Panthers</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05346/7957046-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="367" height="82"></div><p><b>NHL AFFILIATION</b></p><p>Florida Panthers</p><p><b>NOTEWORTHY</b></p><p>A natural scorer with great speed, he had two goals in his NHL debut last season. He moved up from No. 44 ranking in 1999 Future Watch to No. 20 last season. The 95th overall pick in 1997 was bothered by a foot rash early this season.</p><p><b>BOTTOM LINE</b></p><p>Scouts say when he learns to play within a team game and use his teammates, he&rsquo;ll be a permanent NHLer.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-02

Norfolk shooters wear out Albany

<div class="byline">By Rob Mueller</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06300/7957098-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="226" height="214"></div><h2><b><u>NOTEBOOK</u></b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he last time <b>Stan &lsquo;</b>Smokey&rsquo; Reddick was seen stopping pucks in the U.S., the East Coast League had successful franchises in Raleigh, Nashville and Columbus.</p><p>Unlike those cities, the veteran goaltender hasn&rsquo;t since appeared in the NHL. He spent the last six years playing in Slovenia, but now hopes to lead the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks to the playoffs.</p><p>Reddick, 31, last played in the ECHL for the Raleigh IceCaps in 1993-94. He won six championships with HK Olimpija Ljubljana, a team based in Slovenia&rsquo;s capital city, and played for the national team there. The Toronto native has dual Slovenian/Canadian citizenship.</p><p>The 5-foot-7,160-pounder is the younger brother of <b>Eldon &lsquo;Pokey&rsquo; Reddick</b>, a backup with the 1989-90 Stanley Cup-champion Edmonton Oilers.</p><p>Meanwhile, it&rsquo;s now or never for Tallahassee. Mounting financial losses could spell the demise of the franchise after this season.</p><p><b>BROTHERLY LOVE?</b> A funny thing happened to rookie <b>Blaine McCauley</b> on the way to the penalty box in his first pro game with the Dayton Bombers. The 24-year-old defenseman was escorted by his older brother, ECHL referee <b>Wes McCauley.</b></p><p>The Bombers&rsquo; blueliner twice was nabbed by big brother Wes, 28, for roughing in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Peoria Rivermen in the season opener Oct. 12.</p><p>The McCauleys are sons of the late <b>John McCauley</b>, a former referee-in-chief of the NHL.</p><p><b>THE &lsquo;A&rsquo; IN RENEGADE</b> While the Richmond Renegades could join the American League someday, new CEO <b>Bill Stewart</b> said he is in no rush to leave the ECHL.</p><p>Although Stewart admits he&rsquo;s intrigued by the notion of rekindling the heated rivalry between Richmond and Norfolk, he indicated the Renegades are at least two years away from the AHL.</p><p><b>COAST LINES</b> A record 44 former ECHL players were on 2000-01 NHL opening day rosters. Overall, 146 ECHL alumni had advanced to the NHL as of Oct. 5&hellip;The Johnstown Chiefs celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Cambria County War Memorial Arena before their home opener against Wheeling by honoring a former player or coach from each of the previous five decades. Prior to hosting an ECHL team, Johnstown had entries in the Eastern and International Leagues.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-06

Sinking Tiger Sharks hope Smokey’s a bandit

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div><p>There&rsquo;s some truth in that toothless grin center Mark Beaufait flashes in promotional ads for the Orlando Solar Bears.</p><p>Beaufait, 30, is the old man on one of the International League&rsquo;s youngest teams and it&rsquo;s hard to fathom the Atlanta Thrashers&rsquo; affiliate doing much without the Royal Oak, Mich., native playing a big role.</p><p>Of course, it&rsquo;s nothing Beaufait hasn&rsquo;t seen before. He has been the key to the Orlando offense since 1995-96, averaging 86 points a season.</p><p>This edition of the Solar Bears, however, is younger than ever, averaging just 22 years of age.</p><p>&ldquo;The young guys that we have here are skilled and guys who can produce,&rdquo; Beaufait said.&rdquo;I don&rsquo;t feel there&rsquo;s any extra burden on us or me. We just have to play the game like we normally do.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011123/7957129-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="262" height="337"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mark Beaufait</b></figcaption></div><p>Beaufait &mdash; who&rsquo;s on a&rdquo;veteran&rdquo; line with left winger <b>Yves Sarault</b>, 27, and right winger <b>Herbert Vasiljevs</b>, 24 &mdash; was off to a good start with five points as the Bears won three of their first four games. A promising beginning in a league that is more competitive than ever.</p><p>&ldquo;I think the level has gone up again,&rdquo; Beaufait said.&rdquo;Especially the goaltending. There are so many good goalies in this league, to the point where you see one every night.&rdquo;</p><p>Listed at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, Beaufait plays with grit beyond his size. And he knows he&rsquo;ll have to, since tougher standards on stick fouls and checks to the head &mdash; ordered this season by the IHL &mdash; isn&rsquo;t likely to mean too much.</p><p>&ldquo;The first game they really cracked down,&rdquo; Beaufait said.&rdquo;But a lot of times, it&rsquo;s just a crackdown at the beginning. I&rsquo;d like to see a crackdown continue, but I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s going to happen. I still think you&rsquo;re going to see this stuff.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-01

Solar Bears still banking on Beaufait

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02770/7957181-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="439" height="214"></div><h2><b><u>NOTEBOOK</u></b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Chicago Wolves drew 17,618 fans to Allstate Arena for their-season opener Oct. 14, but dropped a 3-1 decision to the Grand Rapids Griffins in a rematch of last season&rsquo;s Turner Cup final.</p><p>The Wolves&rsquo; elaborate banner-raising ceremony lasted 35 minutes and included coach <b>John Anderson</b> and the Turner Cup riding onto the ice ona sled pulled by three Alaskan malamutes posing as wolves.</p><p>Grand Rapids, however, spoiled the party by scoring three unanswered goals for the victory.</p><p>Anderson also coached the Wolves to an International League championship in 1997-98. Off-season rumors pointed to his landing a job as assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Leafs hired <b>Keith Acton</b> to fill the vacancy left by <b>Alpo Suhonen</b>, who took over the Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; head coaching post.</p><p><b>MIRONOV SHINES</b> Defenseman <b>Dmitri Mironov&rsquo;s</b> stay in the IHL didn&rsquo;t last long, but it had an impact.</p><p>Mironov, assigned to the Houston Aeros Oct. 10, scored the tying goal and the shootout winner in the Aeros&rsquo; 3-2 victory over the Manitoba Moose in Winnipeg Oct. 12.</p><p>Two nights later, Mironov, who will turn 35 on Christmas Day, again scored the tying marker, this time against visiting Cleveland as the Aeros wenton to win 2-1 in a shootout.</p><p>The Washington Capitals recalled the veteran Oct. 16.</p><p><b>DOTTING THE I&rsquo;</b> It wasn&rsquo;t surprising that Grand Rapids opened the season at 4-0-0, but Kansas City, also 4-0-0,and Utah, at 3-0-0, were off to unexpectedly good starts, too&hellip; Through the first two weeks of the regular season, six IHL contests had gone to overtime, but none had been decided by five minutes of 4-on-4 play. All required shootouts&hellip;Are goalie fights going to mark this IHL season? Chicago&rsquo;s <b>Rick DiPietro</b> dropped the gloves with Manitoba&rsquo;s <b>Stan &lsquo;Pokey&rsquo; Reddick</b> in a pre-season game, then Milwaukee&rsquo;s <b>Chris Mason</b> and Kansas City&rsquo;s <b>Alfie Michaud</b> were tossed for fighting in the second period of an Oct. 14 tilt&hellip;Cincinnati opened its regular season with a win over the Detroit Vipers, their ninth straight victory against Detroit. That, however, only evened the all-time series between the teams at 21-21-4.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03607/7957174-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="1240" height="1852"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Richmond&rsquo;s Darren Wether ill, left, and Peoria&rsquo;s Dan Hodge meet in a hair-raising collision in East Coast League action.</i></figcaption></div><h2><b>IHL SCOUTING REPORT</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04475/7957167-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="319" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Petr Schastlivy</b></figcaption></div><p><b>VITAL STATISTICS</b></p><p>Hometown: Angarsk, Rus.</p><p>Age: 21</p><p>Size: 6-1,204</p><p><b>LAST AMATEUR CLUB</b></p><p>Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)</p><p><b>POSITION</b> Left winger</p><p><b>2000-01 SEASON</b></p><p>Grand Rapids Griffins</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05385/7957160-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="361" height="85"></div><p><b>NHL AFFILIATION</b></p><p>Ottawa Senators</p><p><b>NOTEWORTHY</b></p><p>A highly skilled, top-speed winger, he&rsquo;s clearly one of the IHL&rsquo;s most talented players. Schastlivy moved up from a No. 45 ranking in 1999 Future Watch to No. 15 last season.</p><p><b>BOTTOM LINE</b></p><p>Schastlivy played himself off the Ottawa roster in training camp. The Senators are being cautious, demanding a better work ethic in exchange for a full-time NHL job.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-02

Chicago fans howl as banner goes up

<div class="byline">- Brendan Savage</div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Mohawk Valley Prowlers traded center John Vecchiarelli, one of the UHL&rsquo;s all-time leading scorers, to the New Haven Knights for former Vancouver Canuck Jay Mazur. Vecchiarelli, 36, scored 38 goals for the Prowlers last year. Mazur, 35, netted 21 for Alexandria (WPHL)&hellip;Quad City acquired Vlad Serov, after he shot down the Mallards with winning goals in Games 3 and 4 of Flint&rsquo;s sweep in the final last season. But he began the year on the suspended list because of&rdquo;philosophical differences&rdquo; with vice-president Howard Cornfield.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

UNITED LEAGUE

<div class="byline">- David Henry</div><p class="dropcap"><span>J</span>ust a day after the regular season opened, the franchise license of the expansion Tucson Scorch was revoked because, according to league officials, owners failed to meet minimum standards including season ticket and corporate partnership sales. The revocation leaves the league with 14 teams, but will not affect divisional alignment. The Tucson players under contract to the team were declared unrestricted free agents. League officials said prospects are dim the franchise will try to rejoin the WPHL next season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

WESTERN PRO LEAGUE

<p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>ive years ago, Terry Ryan was a highly regarded first round pick of the Montreal Canadians. Today he patrols the left wing for the WCHL&rsquo;s Colorado Gold Kings. The 23-year-old is still in Montreal&rsquo;s system, but asked for a trade more than a year ago.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s a long story,&rdquo; Ryan told The Canadian Press.&rdquo;Maybe I&rsquo;m not their kind of player, but don&rsquo;t screw someone out of a career when they&rsquo;re 22 and 23. I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s fair.&rdquo; Ryan had seven goals and 24 points in 50 games for St. John&rsquo;s in the AHL last season. He had a goal and three assists in his WCHL debut.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

WEST COAST LEAGUE

<div class="byline">- Bob Stratton</div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Oklahoma City Blazers, the CHL&rsquo;s flagship franchise, has averaged 9,400 fans per game for eight seasons. They&rsquo;ve won a championship, four straight divisional titles and have yet to miss the playoffs. So when the IHL&rsquo;s Kansas City Blades tried to move to Oklahoma City, the Blazers and CHL fought for their turf. City leaders voted for the CHL to stay and the Blazers signed a seven-year lease agreement, which includes games at the 13,479-seat Myriad Convention Center and the 18,000-seat downtown arena that will be ready in January, 2002.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

CENTRAL LEAGUE

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div><p><b>Kyle Wellwood</b> is out to prove the skeptics wrong.</p><p>The 5-foot-9,190-pound Belleville Bulls&rsquo; center, in his second year, was leading the Ontario League with seven goals and 25 points after nine games.</p><p>&ldquo;His size will hurt him, no doubt about that, but smaller European players get drafted, so I&rsquo;m sure he will, too,&rdquo; said one NHL scout of the 17-year-old Wellwood, who is eligible for the 2001 NHL draft.</p><p><b>Jim Hulton,</b> who took over the coaching reins from <b>Lou Crawford</b>, said Wellwood has gained 25 pounds in the past year.</p><p>&ldquo;From Day 1 he has taken his game to a new level,&rdquo; said Hulton of Wellwood, who last season had 14 goals and 51 points.&rdquo;We lost a lot of offense and we had to recover that. Kyle stepped up to the plate.&rdquo;</p><p>Wellwood is centering overage wingers <b>Branko Radivojevic</b> and <b>Randy Rowe</b>; the line had accumulated 21 goals and 54 assists by mid-October.</p><p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re a perfect compliment,&rdquo; Hulton said. &ldquo;Rowe&rsquo;s power game creates openings, Kyle is a playmaker and Radivojevic can finish.&rdquo;</p><p>Hulton credited Crawford, now coaching the American League&rsquo;s St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs, with grooming Wellwood.</p><p>&ldquo;I had heard Lou used Kyle very wisely in the first half and introduced him slowly into the league,&rdquo; Hulton said.&rdquo;When he started playing, he just got better and better.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011049/7957308-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="385" height="196"></div><p>Wellwood said his new linemates have made things easier.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s extremely beneficial playing with two overagers who have respectable scoring ability. I knew coming in I would be the first line center and would have a lot of responsibility. I was ready&rdquo;</p><p><b>PLAYER CHARGED</b> Ottawa 67&rsquo;s overage winger Lance Galbraith was charged with one count of sexual assault by Ottawa police Oct. 12.</p><p>Galbraith, 20, was released with a promise to appear in court Oct. 26. Police said the charge dated back to an incident in April when a young woman complained she was sexually assaulted at a party.</p><p>At the time, Galbraith spent 17 hours in jail while police investigated. He eventually was released unconditionally when no charges were laid.</p><p>Galbraith, who had a strong camp with the Toronto Maple Leafs on a tryout basis, remains with the 67&rsquo;s.</p><p>&ldquo;Lance is part of the family and we&rsquo;re going to support him any way we can,&rdquo; said team owner <b>Jeff Hunt</b>.</p><p><b>DALEY DELAY</b> It appeared a trade would be the only resolution to the <b>Trevor Daley</b> situation with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, although neither side said that on the record.</p><p>The 17-year-old defenseman was pulled from the team Oct. 3 for what his agent, <b>Harry Francis</b>, said were personal reasons. Neither Francis, Daley nor Greyhounds&rsquo; GM <b>Dave Mayville</b> have elaborated.</p><p>&ldquo;David (Mayville) hasn&rsquo;t told me anything,&rdquo; said coach <b>Paul Theriault</b>, after Mayville and Francis met Oct. 13 in Toronto.&rdquo;I&rsquo;m out of that loop. I support Trevor and his family with their decision, but let&rsquo;s get on with this. Let&rsquo;s put some closure on this and move on.&rdquo;</p><p>Daley, pegged as a high first round pick for the 2002 entry draft, was at home in Toronto skating with the York University team.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-01

Bulls go to Wellwood for offensive charge

<div class="byline">By Willy Palov</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02740/7957339-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="385" height="277"></div><p>What a difference a year makes for <b>Jason King</b>.</p><p>This time last year the right winger was riding the bench with the Quebec League&rsquo;s Halifax Mooseheads. Now he&rsquo;s their go&mdash;to guy on the first line and the team&rsquo;s top scorer.</p><p>&ldquo;This year is a totally new experience,&rdquo; said King, who made the team last season as a free agent.&rdquo;Last year I was on the fourth line and sometimes sitting for the whole game. This year I&rsquo;m getting my chance to prove what I can do.&rdquo;</p><p>A Prolific scorer at every level in New foundland, the Corner Brook native needed only eight games to surpass the 10 points he put up in 53 outings last season. He had 13 points through 11 games.</p><p>&ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;m playing well,&rdquo; King said.&rdquo;I&rsquo;ve got to do that to stay where I am (on the team) and that&rsquo;s what they&rsquo;re expecting me to do.&rdquo;</p><p>Coach <b>Shawn MacKenzie</b> said the 19-year-old learned a lot just by watching last season.</p><p>&ldquo;I think he has come a long way,&rdquo; said MacKenzie, who gave King a regular shift in the 2000 Memorial Cup after taking over from <b>Bob Mongrain</b> in April.&rdquo;If Jason had a problem last year, it was that he was a little on the perimeter. This year he&rsquo;s much more aggressive to the net, he&rsquo;s making that second effort and he&rsquo;s going to be rewarded for that.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of those guys who we&rsquo;re going to keep pushing to be the best he can be. He&rsquo;s really starting to turn the corner. He came to camp knowing what he had to do and he did it.&rdquo;</p><p><b>PHILLY WATCH</b> The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will be keeping a close eye on the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; fortunes for the next few weeks.</p><p>Goaltender <b>Maxime Ouellet</b> made the Flyers&rsquo; opening-day roster, but was sent to the Philadelphia Phantoms (American League) Oct. 17 on a two-week conditioning stint. After 14 days, he must be recalled or sent back to junior.</p><p>&ldquo;My gut feeling is they&rsquo;ll keep (Ouellet) and see how it goes and&hellip;probably try to make a trade or get someone as a free agent,&rdquo; said Rouyn-Noranda coach <b>Jean Pronovost</b>.&rdquo;But I know <b>Reggie Lemelin</b>, their goalie coach, is very high on him.&rdquo;</p><p>Ouellet can play up to 10 NHL games before he forfeits a year of waiver eligibility. Teams don&rsquo;t like to waste that year unless they&rsquo;re sure the player will contribute.</p><p>&ldquo;If he can play, why send him back?&rdquo; Pronovost said.&rdquo;Still, you&rsquo;re talking about a goalie compared to a forward so we&rsquo;ll just have to wait and see.&rdquo;</p><p><b>Sebastien Centomo</b> has been the Huskies&rsquo; starter in Ouellet&rsquo;s absence.</p><p><b>HULL OF A UNE</b> Teams know what&rsquo;s coming, but can do little to stop the Hull Olympiques&rsquo; first line.</p><p>The high-octane unit of <b>Philippe Lacasse</b>, <b>Alexandre Giroux</b> and <b>Philippe Choiniere</b> has been terrorizing goaltenders since the first day of the season and shows no signs of slowing down. All three are in the top 10 in league scoring and are especially dominant with the man advantage.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t take much credit for that success because Lacasse is everywhere on the ice, all I have to do is put it in when he gives it to me,&rdquo; Choiniere said.&rdquo;And Giroux is a great finisher on his own.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>Traveling Overland</b></h2><p>The Tri-City Americans are taking the Overland route and so far, it&rsquo;s quite a ride.</p><p>In Wayne Overland&rsquo;s first month as a Western League operator, he and cohort Bob McCord have lowered ticket prices, offered refunds to season ticket holders and eliminated a $2 parking charge, making games up to 20 per-cent cheaper to attend.</p><p>While appeasing Tri-City fans, Overland and McCord fired up supporters of the rival Spokane Chiefs, who were labeled the&rdquo;Spokane Meatballs&rdquo; in an open letter from the owners to Tri-City fans.</p><p>&ldquo;The fans loved it and the media loved it, but we tried to cool it because it was a mistake,&rdquo; said the accessible Overland, who purchased the team from media-shy Ron Toigo in September.</p><p>&ldquo;We apologized to Spokane. We also said we apologized to Italian restaurants everywhere.&rdquo;</p><p><b><i>- Rob Vanstone</i></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-02

Halifax delighted with King’s ransom

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03607/7957370-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="385" height="271"></div><p><b>Mike Comrie</b> has been so hot, Kootenay Ice officials fear the frigid symbol on the front of his jersey is going to melt.</p><p>The 20-year-old Ice center produced 21 goals and 35 points while lighting the lamp in each of his first 12 Western League games.</p><p>&ldquo;I obviously wanted to come here and contribute as much as possible &mdash; not only offensively, but defensively as well,&rdquo; Comrie said.&rdquo;I&rsquo;m having a lot of fun.&rdquo;</p><p>Comrie, who announced in August he was leaving the University of Michigan to join the Ice, has quickly established himself as a dominant major junior player.</p><p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s face it, I&rsquo;m playing with some great players and my linemates are helping me out,&rdquo; said the 5-foot-9,172-pound Comrie, a Hobey Baker Award finalist last season, when he scored 24 goals and 59 points in 40 games with the Wolverines.</p><p>Kootenay left winger <b>Jarret Stoll</b>, who had 25 points in 11 games, was third in league scoring through Oct. 17, while Comrie&rsquo;s other linemate, right winger <b>Zdenek Blatny</b>, was sixth with 19 points in 10 games.</p><p>Comrie can become an unrestricted free agent if the Edmonton Oilers, who selected him in the third round (91st overall) of the 1999 draft, don&rsquo;t sign him by June 1.</p><p>&ldquo;Right now, I&rsquo;m not going to worry about next year,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo;I&rsquo;m trying to focus on the task at hand and trying to learn and develop.&rdquo;</p><p>In the Ice&rsquo;s first game at the new Cranbrook (B.C.) Recreation Complex Oct. 13, Comrie had four unassisted goals (three in the first period, plus an empty-netter) in a 5-3 win over the Regina Pats.</p><p>His torrid start enabled him to approach the league record for the longest goal-scoring streak of 18, by <b>Cliff Ronning</b> of the 1984-85 New Westminster Bruins.</p><p>The Ice captain was also threatening the WHL mark for the longest goal-scoring run to begin a season. <b>Dale Derkatch</b> (Regina, 1982-83) and <b>Brian Propp</b> (Brandon Wheat Kings, 1978-79) scored in each of their first 15 games.</p><p><b>GIANT STEPS</b> The Vancouver Giants will make their WHL debut in September, 2001.</p><p>The nickname was announced Oct. 17 by owner <b>Ron Toigo</b>, who sold the Tri-City Americans to <b>Wayne Overland</b> and <b>Bob McCord</b> in September. The Giants&rsquo; logo includes a lumberjack with the letter &lsquo;G.&rsquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Our partnership felt the Giants name suited both our team and the Western Hockey League,&rdquo; said Toigo, whose partners include <b>Gordie Howe</b> and Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; boss <b>Pat Quinn</b>.</p><p>An expansion draft will be held in June and Vancouver will join the WHL&rsquo;s non-playoff teams in a lottery for the first pick in the 2001 bantam draft. The Giants are guaranteed the first selection in every round except the first.</p><p><b>NOTES</b> Kootenay was 10-1-0-1 after 12 games, despite playing 10 games on the road while awaiting completion of their new arena&hellip;Calgary Hitmen right winger <b>Pavel Brendl</b> had seven goals in his first four games after being returned by the New York Rangers, who chose him fourth overall in 1999&hellip;Kootenay center Mike Comrie&rsquo;s early production was rivaled by Swift Current Broncos&rsquo; center <b>Layne Ulmer</b>, who had 19 goals and 32 points after 10 games. Ulmer scored in nine of Swift Current&rsquo;s first 10 starts.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-03

Comrie ‘having fun’on WHL record run

<div class="byline">By Paul Harris</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011019/7957401-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="385" height="220"></div><p>If things work out the way <b>Ron Mason</b> wants, he&rsquo;ll receive his own trophy in March.</p><p>That&rsquo;s because the Central Collegiate Hockey Association has named its championship trophy the Mason Cup, after the Michigan State coach. It was a unanimous vote of the CCHA coaches and athletic directors.</p><p>Mason, who has been a college coach for 35 years &mdash; 22 of them at Michigan State &mdash; is college hockey&rsquo;s all-time winningest coach with an overall record of 864-365-74. He&rsquo;s 575255-60 at Michigan State.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m darn proud of it,&rdquo; said Mason, 60, who has coached in the CCHA since 1972-73, his final season at Lake Superior State before heading to Bowling Green.&rdquo;I talked to some guys and said, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s something that happens when you&rsquo;re retired.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Notre Dame coach <b>Dave Poulin</b>, chair of the committee, said it was an easy decision.</p><p>&ldquo;As one of the founders of the league, Ron has helped the CCHA grow into what it is today,&rdquo; Poulin said.</p><p>Mason has guided a record 20 teams to the NCAA tournament and won the NCAA national title with Michigan State in 1986 and the NAIA national title with Lake Superior State in 1972.</p><p><b>KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT</b> But Mason had some bad news to deal with Oct. 3, when his Spartans dropped a 6-4 exhibition game decision to the U.S. under-18 national team at Michigan State&rsquo;s own Munn Arena. It was the first game the under-18 team, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., had played against a college club.</p><p>The under-18 team then traveled to Kalamazoo, Mich., to face Western Michigan Oct. 6 and dropped a 5-1 decision to the Broncos.</p><p><b>ICE BREAKER CUP</b> Michigan played two teams to a standoff &mdash; though they were shot down once &mdash; at the 2000 Ice Breaker Cup, which was hosted by the Wolverines at Yost Ice Arena Oct. 6-7.</p><p>In their first game, Michigan was deadlocked at 2-2 with Colgate through regulation time and a five-minute overtime, but lost in a shootout. The next night, the Wolverines tied defending national champion North Dakota 5-5. There was a five-minute overtime, but no shootout.</p><p>&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ll get a lot out of this weekend and we should become a better team as the year goes on,&rdquo; said Wolverines&rsquo; coach <b>Red Berenson</b>.</p><p>New Hampshire, which defeated North Dakota in a shootout, won the tournament by manhandling Colgate 7-3.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-01

CCHA title trophy named in honor of lifer Mason

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02677/7957432-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="376" height="224"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>E</span>.J. McGuire</b> said his first two games in 20 years behind a college bench were wonderful, even though the Maine Black Bears tied 1-1 and lost 4-2 against NCAA champion North Dakota.</p><p>&ldquo;The crowd support was tremendous,&rdquo;said McGuire, who noted fans didn&rsquo;t voice the frustration often heard from those used to success.</p><p>With coach <b>Shawn Walsh</b> in California undergoing his final 20-dav immunotherapy treatment for kidney cancer, Maine added McGuire, a former NHL assistant coach, to its staff for the three weeks Walsh will be away</p><p>The school received NCAA permission, with the stipulation that McGuire can work with the players only when Walsh is away.</p><p>McGuire could have received payment, but elected to volunteer his services. He and Walsh are long-time friends.</p><p>McGuire, who once coached at the University of Waterloo (Ont.), has served as an assistant with Philadelphia, Chicago and Ottawa, as well as coach of the American League&rsquo;s Hartford Wolf Pack and Portland Pirates. He is currently between jobs.</p><p>&ldquo;He talks with the guys, does 1-on-l video analysis with them and brings a different perspective,&rdquo; said interim coach <b>Gene Reilly</b>.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s very emotional and enthusiastic.&rdquo;</p><p>North Dakota players showed their support for Walsh by wearing his name on the back of their jerseys, in place of their own, during the Friday night tie.</p><p>The Fighting Sioux donated their jerseys to an auction for the Coaches&rsquo; Foundation.</p><p>&ldquo;It was a classy thing for them to do,&rdquo; said Maine junior defenseman and co-captain <b>Doug Janik.</b></p><p><b>HONORARY EFFORTS</b></p><p>Northeastern winger <b>Mike Ryan</b> had a hat trick and assist to lead the Huskies to a 4-3 win over St. Lawrence Oct. 13 and earn player-of-the-week kudos. UMass Lowell&rsquo;s <b>Laurent Meunier</b>, who had two goals and an assist in a 6-1 win over Connecticut, was rookie of the week, while Boston College senior goalie <b>Scott Clemmensen</b> was outstanding defensive player. Clemmensen made 61 saves in the Eagles&rsquo; 4-1 win over Notre Dame and 5-1 win over Nebraska-Omaha in the Maverick Stampede Tournament at Omaha.</p><p><b>CORRECTION</b> Left winger <b>Barrett Heisten</b> was incorrectly listed as a top NHL-drafted player in the Oct. 20 Hockey East preview. It should have been Boston University defenseman <b>Pat Aufiero,</b> a New York Rangers&rsquo; draft pick.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-02

McGuire returns to coaching roots by filling in for ailing Maine mentor

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03562/7957463-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="372" height="224"></div><p>You can&rsquo;t blame defenseman <b>Glenn Coupal</b> if he feels like the elder statesman at RPI this year.</p><p>Although he&rsquo;s just four months older than teammates <b>Hamish Cunning</b> and <b>Steve Munn,</b> Coupal is the only senior on the Engineers&rsquo; roster.</p><p>A 6-foot-l, 210-pound native of Plattsburgh, N.Y., who played for the Omaha Lancers of the U.S. League before RPI, Coupal will rely on his experience and maturity to anchor the Engineers&rsquo; defense.</p><p>And his maturity will be especially handy as he&rsquo;ll be playing in front of two freshman netminders &mdash; <b>Nathan Marstars</b> and <b>Kevin Kurk</b>.</p><p>&ldquo;The goalies have to have confidence in the defense and the defense has to have confidence in the goalies, so they know when to take chances,&rdquo; said RPI coach <b>Dan Fridgen</b>.&rdquo;We&rsquo;re fortunate to have a senior defenseman, which is where we need the most leadership.&rdquo;</p><p>Coupal had three goals and nine points in 35 games for the Engineers last year, but his importance on the ice isn&rsquo;t always reflected on the stat sheet.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of those quiet types,&rdquo; Fridgen said.&rdquo;But he has been real steady back there. He&rsquo;s a pretty big guy and he has learned how to use his size to move guys around and box out.&rdquo;</p><p>The development of sophomore Dan Eberly, an assistant captain, also will benefit the Engineers&rsquo; defense.</p><p>&ldquo;You haven&rsquo;t seen what he&rsquo;s capable of because he has been bothered by injuries, but we&rsquo;re at our best when he&rsquo;s on the blueline.&rdquo; said Fridgen of Eberly, who came out of Catholic Memorial High School in Boston.</p><p><b>COACHING DUTCHMAN</b> Union College senior <b>Jay Varady</b> will spend his final Eastern College Athletic Conference season behind the bench.</p><p>After being diagnosed with a spinal injury last year, Varady opted to serve as a volunteer assistant coach for the Skating Dutchmen.</p><p>Varady was bothered by a tingling in his neck and shoulders for most of the 1999-2000 season and didn&rsquo;t play again after a Feb. 18 game at Cornell. The Cahokia, Hl., native was told by two physicians that he risked paralysis if he continued to play, so he instead decided to join head coach <b>Kevin Sneddon&rsquo;s</b> staff.</p><p><b>COLGATE SHARP</b> Right winger <b>Sean Nolan</b> scored twice for Colgate in a 2-2 tie with No. 2-ranked Michigan at the Ice Breaker Cup Oct. 6-7. The Red Raiders advanced to the final when junior goalie <b>Jason Lefevre</b> stopped all five shots in a shootout. Colgate then lost to New Hampshire 7-3 in the championship game.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-03

RPI counting on lone senior Coupal to set example for young Engineers

<div class="byline">By Andy Baggot</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04433/7957494-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="377" height="228"></div><p>The first loss of the season in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association was sustained, not by a particular program, but the entire league.</p><p>For more than 20 years until her death Oct. 7, <b>Edda Olson</b> compiled and distributed the WMPL Radio College Hockey Poll. Before the Internet came along, the radio station in Houghton-Hancock, Mich., was a reliable, up-to-the-minute source of college hockey scores from around the U.S.</p><p>Edda, who had been battling cancer, was married to <b>Bob Olson</b>, the longtime voice of Michigan Tech hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;At the (funeral) service, people got up and spoke about her and the one thing that came out was that she was always so pleasant, always had something nice to say about others,&rdquo; said <b>Rick Yeo</b>, the Michigan Tech athletic director and a family friend of the Olsons.</p><p>&ldquo;The whole family was here when she passed away,&rdquo; said Yeo, referring to the couple&rsquo;s five daughters and four grandchildren.&rdquo;She was able to understand what was happening.&rdquo;</p><p>The 1999-2000 season was a major struggle for those associated with the Huskies, who finished last in league play with a 4-24-0 record and set a WCHA record with 34 losses overall.</p><p>&ldquo;It was just devastating,&rdquo; Yeo said.&rdquo;It shocked all of us.&rdquo;</p><p>But Edda Olson, 70, was one who maintained an upbeat attitude.</p><p>&ldquo;She was always encouraged,&rdquo; Yeo said,&rdquo;always optimistic.&rdquo;</p><p><b>COACHES LIKE SIOUX</b> Defending national champion North Dakota was tabbed to win the WCHA regular season title in an annual pre-season poll of league coaches conducted by the Grand Forks (N.D.) <i>Herald.</i> The Fighting Sioux totaled six first-place votes and 77 points, followed by defending MacNaughton Cup-champion Wisconsin (three firsts, 70 points) and St. Cloud State (one first, 61 points).</p><p>In voting for player of the year, Wisconsin left winger <b>Dany Heatley</b> received 5-1/2 votes, while North Dakota center <b>Jeff Panzer</b> received 4-1/2.</p><p>Denver center <b>Connor James</b> and Minnesota winger <b>Troy Riddle</b> tied in rookie-of-the-year voting, each receiving three ballots.</p><p><b>MOVIN&rsquo; ON UP</b> The WCHA has a new home for its annual Final Five playoff games. League commissioner <b>Bruce McLeod</b> negotiated a three-year deal over the summer with the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The new, facility seats 18,600 and is home to the Minnesota Wild, the NHL expansion franchise that began play this season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-04

Huge booster of college hockey dies at 70

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01908/7957616-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>2000-01 STANDINGS</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>HL Standings through games of Oct. 19 (82-game regular season). <b>GP</b>-games played; W-wins; L-losses; T-ties; <b>RT</b>-regulation ties; <b>GF</b>-goals for; <b>GA</b>-goals against; Diff.-difference between goals for and against; <b>P</b>-points; <b>Pct.-</b>percentage of actual points versus possible points. Below is a comparison between games played through Oot. 14.1999 versus names played through Oct. 19/2000.</p><p>The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. Division leaders are seeded No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. Otherwise, seeding is determined by: 1. point total; 2. wins; 3. points obtained in games against tied teams; 4. goal differential. The regular seasonends Apnl 8.</p><h2><b>DIVISIONAL STANDINGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02616/7957609-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="1387" height="559"></div><h2><b>OVERALL</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04405/7957602-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="493" height="814"></div><h2><b>RESULTS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05358/7957595-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="496" height="1408"></div><h2><b>GOALS-AGAINST AVE.</b></h2><p><b>GP</b>-games played; <b>Min.-</b>total minutes; <b>GA</b>-goals against; <b>SO</b>-shutouts; <b>GAA</b>-goals-against average; League average is average <b>GAA</b> of all goalies who have played a minimum of 120 minutes.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06318/7957588-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="595" height="997"></div><h2><b>SAVE PERCENTAGE</b></h2><p><b>GP</b>-games played; <b>Min</b>.-total minutes; <b>SA</b>-shots faced; <b>GA</b>-goals against; SP-save percentage; League average is average save percentage of all goalies who have played a minimum of 120 minutes.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07285/7957581-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="601" height="997"></div><h2><b>TOP SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-08242/7957574-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="595" height="559"></div><h2><b>TOP DEFENSEMEN</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-09206/7957567-1-eng-US/f0037-092.jpg" title="f0037-09" width="592" height="313"></div><h2><b>TOP ROOKIES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-10181/7957560-1-eng-US/f0037-102.jpg" title="f0037-10" width="595" height="280"></div><p><b>ATTENDANCE</b></p><p>Listed are unofficial NHL attendance figures, including number of home games, 1999-00 average at the same number of games, 2000-01 average, difference between the two, percentage difference and percentage of capacity.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-11151/7957553-1-eng-US/f0037-112.jpg" title="f0037-11" width="595" height="790"></div><h2><b>TEAM PENALTIES</b></h2><p><b>PIM-</b>total penalty mnutes including <b>BMI-</b>bench penalty minutes; <b>Avg.-</b>average penalty minutes per game.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-12130/7957546-1-eng-US/f0037-122.jpg" title="f0037-12" width="1024" height="457"></div><h2><b>PENALTY KILLING</b></h2><p><b>TSH-</b>total tmes shorthanded <b>PGA-</b>power-play goals allowed; <b>Pct.-</b>penalty-killing percentage.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-13119/7957539-1-eng-US/f0037-132.jpg" title="f0037-13" width="1021" height="457"></div><h2><b>POWER PLAY</b></h2><p><b>Adv-</b>total advantages; <b>PPG-</b>power-play goals; <b>Pct.-</b>power-play goals divided by total advantages.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-14108/7957532-1-eng-US/f0037-142.jpg" title="f0037-14" width="1024" height="454"></div><h2><b>THN PLAYER OF THE WEEK</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03485/7957525-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="250" height="322"></div><p>Colorado Avalanche center Peter Forsberg is The Hockey News player of the week for the period Oct. 13-19. The Omskoldsvik, Swe., native scored four goals and added three assists for seven points and was plus-2 in three games during the time period. Two of his goals were game-winners.</p><p>Forsberg, 27, accounted for the insurance marker and was plus-1 in a 3-1 win over visiting Columbus Oct. 14. On Oct. 17, Forsberg picked up an assist and potted the overtime winner in a 4-3 decision over host Washington that gave Colorado goalie Patrick Roy his record 448th regular season victory. Forsberg was again plus-1. The fiery Forsberg&rsquo;s finest contest came Oct. 19 when he carried Colorado&rsquo;s offense with two goals and two assists in a 5-1 drubbing of the expansion Blue Jackets. Forsberg fired his second winning goal of the week and was even in plus/minus rating. Overall, Forsberg leads the Avalanche, who remain undefeated at 5-0-2-0, with five goals and nine points in seven games through Oct. 19.</p><p>Forsberg beat out Edmonton&rsquo;s Bill Guerin (three goals, five assists and plus-2 in four games) and Ottawa&rsquo;s Marian Hossa (one goal, eight assists and plus-7 in four games) for the weekly honor.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0037-01

2000-01 REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01989/7957906-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>S</span>tatistics provided by National Hockey League: <b>PLAYER</b>-listed by uniform number, position (F-forward; D-defenseman; G-goalie), name; <b>GP</b>-games played; <b>G</b>-goals; <b>A</b>-assists; <b>P</b>-points; <b>+/-</b>-plus/minus; <b>PIM</b>-penalties; <b>PP</b>-power-play goals; <b>SH</b>-short-handed goals; <b>GW</b>-game-winning goals; <b>GT</b>-game-tying goals; <b>S</b>-shots; <b>SP</b>-shooting percentage; <b>H</b>-hits. A hit is any legal contact by a player on an opposing player that exerts enough force as to prevent the player from controlling the puck, knocks him off the puck, or significantly impedes his progress; <b>GV</b>-giveaways. <b>A</b> giveaway is when a player&rsquo;s own actions result in the loss of possession to the other team; <b>TK</b>-takeaways. A takeaway occurs when pressure by a defending player results in gaining possession of the puck; <b>MIN</b>-average minutes played per game is expressed in minutes and seconds. Players indicated by an asterisk (*) are eligible for the Calder Trophy.</p><p><b>NOTE</b>: Statistics provided by NHL are incomplete. Extended stats for Columbus, Minnesota, Nashville and Pittsburgh were not available. Individual player stats are also not complete in some cases.</p><h2><b>ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS</b></h2><h2><b>ATLANTA THRASHERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02671/7957899-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="1015" height="628"></div><h2><b>BOSTON BRUINS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03542/7957892-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="1018" height="652"></div><h2><b>BUFFALO SABRES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04429/7957885-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="1021" height="121"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05339/7957878-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="1009" height="520"></div><h2><b>CALGARY FLAMES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06290/7957871-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="1027" height="712"></div><h2><b>CAROLINA HURRICANES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-07264/7957864-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="1015" height="610"></div><h2><b>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-08227/7957857-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="1012" height="652"></div><h2><b>COLORADO AVALANCHE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-09203/7957850-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="1006" height="169"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-10178/7957843-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="1021" height="496"></div><h2><b>COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-11161/7957836-1-eng-US/f0038-112.jpg" title="f0038-11" width="1012" height="667"></div><h2><b>DALLAS STARS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-12149/7957829-1-eng-US/f0038-122.jpg" title="f0038-12" width="1009" height="691"></div><h2><b>DETROIT RED WINGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-13137/7957822-1-eng-US/f0038-132.jpg" title="f0038-13" width="1015" height="688"></div><h2><b>EDMONTON OILERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-14127/7957815-1-eng-US/f0038-142.jpg" title="f0038-14" width="1006" height="148"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01931/7957808-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="1024" height="514"></div><h2><b>FLORIDA PANTHERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02609/7957801-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="1021" height="658"></div><h2><b>LOS ANGELES KINGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03469/7957794-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="1036" height="682"></div><h2><b>MINNESOTA WILD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04387/7957787-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="1027" height="652"></div><h2><b>MONTREAL CANADIENS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05327/7957780-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="1024" height="712"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06277/7957773-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="2047" height="1600"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Hundreds turned out Oct. 19 in Oakville, Ont., where Bobby Orr helped The Hockey News and McClelland & Stewart launch their new book.&rdquo;Century of Hockey.&rdquo; The legendary No. 4 signs a young fan&rsquo;s jersey at the event.</i></figcaption></div><h2><b>NASHVILLE PREDATORS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07253/7957766-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="1027" height="637"></div><h2><b>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-08220/7957759-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="1021" height="625"></div><h2><b>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-09185/7957752-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="1030" height="316"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-10159/7957745-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="1021" height="286"></div><h2><b>NEW YORK RANGERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-11140/7957738-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="1024" height="691"></div><h2><b>OTTAWA SENATORS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-12124/7957731-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="1021" height="658"></div><h2><b>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01632/7957724-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="1012" height="661"></div><h2><b>PHOENIX COYOTES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02391/7957717-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="1015" height="670"></div><h2><b>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03289/7957710-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="1015" height="637"></div><h2><b>SAN JOSE SHARKS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04234/7957703-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="1015" height="592"></div><h2><b>ST. LOUIS BLUES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05202/7957696-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="1006" height="562"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06179/7957689-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="1009" height="139"></div><h2><b>TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07164/7957682-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="1018" height="631"></div><h2><b>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-08147/7957675-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="1018" height="661"></div><h2><b>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-09117/7957668-1-eng-US/f0040-092.jpg" title="f0040-09" width="1015" height="601"></div><h2><b>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-10108/7957661-1-eng-US/f0040-102.jpg" title="f0040-10" width="1012" height="655"></div><h2><b>REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-1196/7957654-1-eng-US/f0040-112.jpg" title="f0040-11" width="997" height="433"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-1288/7957647-1-eng-US/f0040-122.jpg" title="f0040-12" width="1021" height="3538"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0038-01

<h2><b>NOTE</b></h2><p><b>SATURDAY, OCT. 14</b></p><p>Unofficial game summaries provided by National Hockey League; (shots on goal/plus-minus); SA-shots against; <b>GA</b>-goals against; <b>ENG</b>-empty net goals; Decdecision, charges to goaltenders of record when winning goal is scored.</p><h2><b>FRIDAY, OCT. 13</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05199/7958129-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="517" height="2084"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-06182/7958122-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="529" height="2464"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-07167/7958115-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="520" height="2468"></div><h2><b>SATURDAY, OCT. 14</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-08138/7958108-1-eng-US/f0041-082.jpg" title="f0041-08" width="528" height="2364"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-09104/7958101-1-eng-US/f0041-092.jpg" title="f0041-09" width="525" height="2460"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1079/7958094-1-eng-US/f0041-102.jpg" title="f0041-10" width="525" height="2452"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01540/7958087-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="529" height="3540"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02338/7958080-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="505" height="812"></div><h2><b>SUNDAY, OCT. 15</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03267/7958073-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="525" height="2656"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04215/7958066-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="528" height="2848"></div><h2><b>MONDAY, OCT. 16</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05187/7958059-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="504" height="628"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06172/7958052-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="509" height="1536"></div><h2><b>TUESDAY, OCT. 17</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-07153/7958045-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="513" height="1920"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-08130/7958038-1-eng-US/f0042-082.jpg" title="f0042-08" width="521" height="3544"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-09111/7958031-1-eng-US/f0042-092.jpg" title="f0042-09" width="525" height="3164"></div><h2><b>WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1091/7958024-1-eng-US/f0042-102.jpg" title="f0042-10" width="501" height="316"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01545/7958017-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="511" height="3556"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02366/7958010-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="511" height="3559"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03301/7958003-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="511" height="127"></div><h2><b>THURSDAY, OCT. 19</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04217/7957996-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="523" height="3346"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05187/7957989-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="514" height="3277"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0041-05

NHL GAME SUMMARIES

<p><b>Transactions include NHL personnel moves from Oct.13-20.</b></p><h2><b>ANAHEIM</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 15</b> Antti Aalto, C. assigned to Cincinnati (AHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Steve Rucchin</b>, C, broken hand, day-to-day. <b>Pavel Trnka</b>, D, sprained ankle, Nov. 8</p><h2><b>ATLANTA</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Gord Murphy</b>, D, shoulder, Nov 15 Rumun Ndur D, groin. Nov 8 Adam Burt, 0. facial fractures, Oct. 25 Patrik Stefan, C, groin, day-to-day.</p><h2><b>BOSTON</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 15</b> Kay Whitmore, G, recalled from Providence (AHL). Cameron Mann, RW, reassigned to Providence.</p><p><b>INJURIES Paul Coffey</b>. D, strained hip flexor, day-to-day <b>Byron Dafoe</b>. G. pulled left hamstring, indefinite. <b>John Grahame</b>. G, broken ankle, indefinite and on suspended list. <b>Eric Nickulas</b>, RW, rib strain, day-to-day. <b>Andre Savage</b>, C, recovering from shoulder surgery, indefinite.</p><h2><b>BUFFALO</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 18</b> Peter Skudra, G, recalled from Rochester (AHL). Mika Noronen, G, assigned to Rochester. <b>Oct. 19</b> Alexei Zhitnik, D, suspended for four games as a result of high-sticking incident In Oct. 17 game vs. Montreal.</p><p><b>INJURIES James Patrick</b>, D, separated shoulder, day-to-day.</p><h2><b>CALGARY</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Denis Gauthier</b>, D, bruised wrist, mid-November. Marty Murray, C, hip pointer, day-to-day. <b>Ronald Petrovicky</b>, RW, wrist tendon, indefinite.</p><h2><b>CAROLINA</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 19</b> Greg Kuznik. D. and Mike Rucinski, D, recalled from Cincinnati (IHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Marek Malik</b>. D, sore neck, day-to-day. Niclas Wallin, D, broken bone in right wrist, mid-November. <b>David Tanabe</b>, D, concussion, day-to-day.</p><h2><b>CHICAGO</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 13</b> Blair Atcheynum, RW, assigned to Norfolk (AHL). <b>Oct. 17</b> Atcheynum recalled from Norfolk and assigned to Chicago (IHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES</b> None.</p><h2><b>COLORADO</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None</p><p><b>INJURIES Adam Oeadmarsh</b>, RW, bruised eye, day-to-day</p><h2><b>COLUMBUS</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Espen Knintsen</b>. C, broken finger, Oct. 25.</p><h2><b>DALLAS</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 13</b> Greg Leeb, C, reassigned to Utah (IHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Shaun Van Allen</b>, C, back spasms, indefinite.</p><h2><b>DETROIT</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 18</b> Todd Gill, D. recalled from Cincinnati (AHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Chris Chelios</b>, D, knee surgery, indefinite. Steve Yzerman. C, knee surgery, indefinite. <b>Steve Duchesne</b>. D. knee,</p><h2><b>EDMONTON</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None</p><p><b>INJURIES Josh Green</b>, LW, shoulder surgery. Mid-February Ethan Moreau. LW, off-season shoulder surgery, Oct. 28.</p><h2><b>FLORIDA</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 16</b> Paul Laus. RW, signed three-year contract extension beginning in 2001-02.</p><p><b>INJURIES Brad Ference</b>. D, cracked jaw. Nov. 5 Todd Simpson, D, broken right big toe, Nov. 5 Nick Smith, C, knee surgery, mid-November.</p><h2><b>LOS ANGELES</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 16</b> Andreas Ulja, D, recalled from Lowell (AHL). <b>Oct. 18</b> Jozef Stumpel, C, signed three-year, $7.7 million contract plus incentives.</p><p><b>INJURIES Stu Grimson</b>, LW, infected right hand, Nov. 8. Rob Blake, 0, hairline vertebrae fracture, Nov. 8. Stephane Fiset, G. sprained knee, Nov. 3.</p><h2><b>MINNESOTA</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 17</b> Zac Bierk. G. recalled from Cleveland (IHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Steve McKenna.</b> RW. back spasms, indefinite. Sergei Krivokrasov, RW, sprained right knee, Nov. 12.</p><h2><b>MONTREAL</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 14</b> Jose Theodore, G, and Juha Lind, LW, recalled from Quebec (AHL). Eric Fichaud, G. reassigned to Quebec.</p><p><b>INJURIES Jim Campbell</b>, C, concussion, day-to-day. <b>Enrico Ciccone</b>. D. strained groin, indefinite. Karl Dykhuis. D, abdominal surgery, indefinite. <b>Saku Koivu</b>. C, torn MCL on left knee. mid-January. <b>Sheldon Souray</b>, D. tom abdominal muscle, mid-January.</p><h2><b>NASHVILLE</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 17</b> Chris Mason. G, recalled from Milwaukee (IHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Tomas Vokoun</b>, G, severely bruised left foot, day-to-day.</p><h2><b>NEW JERSEY</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None</p><p><b>INJURIES</b> None</p><h2><b>NY ISLANDERS</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 12</b> Evgeny Korolev, D. assigned to Chicago (IHL). Jeff Toms, LW, recalled from Springfield (AHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Eric Cairns</b>, D, broken left thumb, late October. Bill Muckalt. RW, dislocated right shoulder, late November.</p><h2><b>NY RANGERS</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 17</b> Jason Doig. D. placed on waivers. Dale Purinton, D, and Drew Bannister, D, recalled from Hartford (AHL). <b>Oct. 18</b> David Wilkie, D, reassigned to Houston (IHL). <b>Oct. 19</b> Doig and Jason LaBarbera, G, assigned to Hartford.</p><p><b>INJURIES Vladimir Malakhov</b>. D. left knee sprain. Nov. 4.</p><h2><b>OTTAWA</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct 15</b> Mathieu Chouinard, G, recalled from Grand Rapids (IHL). <b>Oct. 18</b> Shane Hnidy, D, assigned to Grand Rapids. <b>Oct. 19</b> Sean Gagnon, D, assigned to Grand Rapids.</p><p><b>INJURIES Daniel Alfredsson</b>, RW. right hip flexor, Oct. 25 Patrick Lalime, G. sprained left MCL, Oct. 27.</p><h2><b>PHILADELPHIA</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 17</b> Roman Cechmanek. G. and Mark Greig, RW, recalled from Philadelphia (AHL). Maxime Ouellet, G, assigned to Philadelphia (AHL). <b>Oct. 18</b> Petr Hubacek, C, assigned to Philadelphia (AHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES John LeClair.</b> LW, back surgery, indefinite. <b>Mark Recchi</b>, RW, head injury, indefinite. <b>Jody Hull</b>. RW, separated right shoulder, day-to-day. <b>Chris Therier.</b> D, strained lower back, indefinite.</p><h2><b>PHOENIX</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Juha Ylonen</b>, C. bruised left shoulder, day-to-day</p><h2><b>PITTSBURGH</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None</p><p><b>INJURIES Hans Jonsson</b>. D, concussion, day-to-day. <b>Janne Laukkanen</b>. D, bruised knee, day-to-day. <b>Ian Moran,</b> D, sprained knee, indefinite.</p><h2><b>ST. LOUIS</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 13</b> Chris Pronger, D. suspended for one game as a result of altercation in Oct. 11 game vs. Los Angeles. <b>Oct. 17</b> Ladislav Nagy. RW, assigned to Worcester (AHL). <b>Oct. 20</b> Justin Papineau, C, Derek Bekar, LW, and Reed Low, RW, signed multi-year contracts.</p><p><b>INJURIES Marc Bergevin</b>. D. right thumb, Nov. 8. Todd Reirden, D, left foot, mid-November.</p><h2><b>SAN JOSE</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 13</b> Miikka Kiprusoff, G, recalled from Kentucky (AHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Owen Nolan</b>, RW, surgery for sports hernia, day-to-day. <b>Steve Shields</b>. G, high right ankle sprain, day-to-day.</p><h2><b>TAMPA BAY</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 15</b> Andrei Zyuzin, D recalled from Detroit (IHL). <b>Oct. 16</b> Sheldon Keefe, RW, recalled from Detroit. Sergey Gusev, D, assigned to Detroit.</p><p><b>INJURIES Stan Drulia</b>, RW, broken left hand, mid-November.</p><h2><b>TORONTO</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Nik Antropov</b>, C, reconstructive surgery on right knee, Nov. 30 Bryan Berard, D, eye surgery, indefinite. <b>Alyn McCauley</b>. C, jammed left wrist, day-to-day.</p><h2><b>VANCOUVER</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 16</b> Artem Chubarov. C, assigned to Kansas City (IHL). <b>Oct. 19</b> Brent Sopel, D. assigned to Kansas City. Bryan Helmer, D, recalled from Kansas City. <b>Oct. 20</b> Trent Klatt, RW, signed two-year contract.</p><p><b>INJURIES Mattias Ohlund</b>. D. eye surgery. Nov. 17</p><h2><b>WASHINGTON</b></h2><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Oct. 16</b> Jakub Cutta, D, returned to Swift Current (WHL). Dmitri Mironov, D, recalled from Houston (IHL) <b>Oct. 19</b> Richard Zednik, LW, suspended for four games and fined $1.000 as a result of cross-checking incident in Oct. 17 game vs. Colorado.</p><p><b>INJURIES</b> None</p><h2><b>THE WEEK THAT WAS</b></h2><p><b>Transactions include NHL personnel moves from Oct.13-20.</b></p><p>A weekly compendium of significant events and developments (Oct. 13-19).</p><p><b>Oct. 14</b> Colorado&rsquo;s Patrick Roy ties Terry Sawchuk for most career wins with his 447th as the Avalanche defeats Columbus 3-1.</p><p>Pittsburgh&rsquo;s JaromirJagr registers his first career four-goal game in an8-6 win over the Rangers.</p><p><b>Oct. 15</b> Replays show a shot by Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; Glen Murray clearly travels through the side of the Phoenix net, but the goal is allowed to stand.</p><p><b>Oct. 17</b> Roy passes Sawchuk as Colorado edges Washington 4-3 in overtime and becomes the NHL&rsquo;s winningest goalie with 448 victories.</p><p><b>Oct. 18</b> The Ottawa Senators extend the contract of coach Jacques Martin through the 2002-03 season.</p><p>Center Jozef Stumpel signs a three-year contract reportedly worth $7.5 million with the Los Angeles Kings.</p><h2><b>REFEREES & LINESMEN</b></h2><p>Listed below are NHL referees and linesmen in alphabetical order. Also included is each official sweater number in parentheses.</p><h2><b>Referees</b></h2><p>Blaine Angus (9); Stephane Auger (41); Bernard DeGrace (30); Paul Devorski (10); Harry Dumas (44); Mark Faucette (11); Kerry Fraser (2); Eric Furlatt (39); Terry Gregson (4); Conrad Hache (34); Dave hanson (58); Mike Hasenfratz (36); Shane Heyer (64); Dave Jackson (8); Marc Joannette (33); Greg Kimmerly (18); Don Koharski (12); Tom Kowal (32); Bob Langdon (76); Dennis LaRue (14); Chris Lee (49); Mike Leggo (28); Kevin Maguire (27); Dan Marouelli (6); Rob Martel (26); Bill McCreary (7); Mick McGeough (19); Brad Meier (40); Dean Morton (85); Brian Murphy (93); Dan O&rsquo;Halloran (15); Tim Peel (37); Kevin Pollock (52); Lance Roberts (20); Chris Rooney (43); Jay Sharrers (57); Rob Shick (16); Paul Stewart (22); Kelly Sutherland (60); Richard Trottier (17); Don Van Massenhoven (21); Stephen Walkom (24); Ian Walsh (53); Dean Warren (35); Brad Watson (23); Scott Zelkin (29).</p><h2><b>Linesmen</b></h2><p>Derek Amell (75); Steve Barton (59); Wayne Bonney (94); David Brisebois (96); Gord Broseker (55); Lonnie Cameron (74); Pierre Champoux (67); Kevin Collins (50); Mike Cvik (88); Angelo D&rsquo;Amico (38); Pay Dapuzzo (45); Greg Devorski (54); Scott Driscoll (68); Gerard Gauthier (63); Darren Gibbs (66); Don Henderson (91); Brad Kovachik (71); Brad Lazarowich (86); Brian Mach (78); Dan McCourt (46); Andy McElman (90): Steve Miller (89); Randy Mitton (98); Jean Morin (97); Jonny Murray (95); Thor Nelson (80); Tim Nowak (77); Dan O&rsquo;Rourke (92); Mark Pare (79); Stephane Provost (72); Pierre Racicot (65); Vaughan Rody (73); Troy Sartison (81); Ray Scapinello (42); Dan Schachte (47); Lyle Seitz (31); Tony Sericolo (84); Mark Wheler (56).<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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November 3, 2000

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

Hull dynasty tops in sports

INSIDE REPORT

Smith’s return gives Flames huge boost