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.

January 26, 2001

The Hockey News January 26, 2001

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04246/7445914-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="225" height="265"></div>The San Jose Sharks completed the first 41 games of the schedule with a franchise-best 25-10-6 record, a pace that would net the franchise its first winning season and a probable division title to boot.Coach Darryl Sutter said he could count on just one hand the number of times his team rolled out a stinker in the first half. His list includ ed a 5-2 loss in Columbus Nov. 9, a 4-1 loss in Detroit Nov. 15 (both on second nights of back-to-back games when traveling) and a pair of home setbacks to improved Vancouver (6-1 Dec. 8 and 6-3 Dec. 30).Sutter pointed to the team&rsquo;s road play &mdash; at 13-5-3, San Jose led the league in road wins at mid-season &mdash; and its ability to stick with the game plan on most nights as keys.&ldquo;Extended trips are when teams can struggle or get in a significant drought,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been able to sustain it. That&rsquo;s got to do with consistency. You&rsquo;ve got to be able to count the number of bad performances and say you bounced back the next game. We&rsquo;ve been able to do that.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;John Nabokov: The 25-year-old Nabokov was leading the league with 22 wins after 41 Sharks&rsquo; games. His calm, cool demeanor rubs off on teammates. Having allowed two or fewer goals in 26 of his first 33 starts, Nabokov boasted a 1.91 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.MISSING ELEMENT Only five teams were less efficient on the power play after 41 games than San Jose&rsquo;s meager 13.2-percent clip. Gaining the zone, retrieving pucks, shots from the point and the absence of more than Owen Nolan&rsquo;s right-handed stick were hurting the power play. The Sharks scored 62 power play goals last year and were on pace for 54 this year.NOTEBOOK During right winger Niklas Sundstrom&rsquo;s 1-1/2 seasons with San Jose, the Sharks were 34-7-8 when the speedy Swede managed either a goal or an assist&hellip;Defenseman Gary Suter earned the 600th assist of his 16-year NHL career when he set up right winger Owen Nolan for a power play goal against the Panthers Jan. 6.- Ross McKeon &#9632;

f0021-04

NHL TEAM REPORTS

Hot goalie, road prowess keys for surging Sharks

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02760/7445976-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="220" height="243"></div>It was a punch that took the Maple Leafs by surprise, but didn&rsquo;t faze them.Flyers&rsquo; owner Ed Snider took to the radio airwaves in Toronto jan. 11 and said his club was terminating Eric Lindros trade talks with the Leafs.It was widely viewed as an attempt by Snider to turn up the heat on Toronto GM Pat Quinn to extract a better offer. Quinn was feeling pressure because his team was slumping and many fans see Lindros as a potential solution.&ldquo;This is silly,&rdquo; said Quinn of the Snider directive. &ldquo;We were anointed last summer as being one of the teams involved and we still have interest.&rdquo;Lindros&rsquo; lawyer Gordon Kirke said the Snider pronouncement doesn&rsquo;t alter the desire of the former Flyers&rsquo; captain to play for Toronto.&ldquo;There is no second choice and no other team is on the radar screen,&rdquo; Kirke said.MVP&nbsp;Curtis Joseph: While his statistics don&rsquo;t rank with the NHL&rsquo;s best, Curtis Joseph continues to give the Leafs a chance to win most games, even when they don&rsquo;t deserve it. Toronto struggled with both intensity and team defense through the first half, but it wasn&rsquo;t unusual for Joseph to make a handful of spectacular early saves many nights while his teammates searched for their game.MISSING ELEMENT A mid-season swoon underlined how desperately Toronto needs a power play quarterback. During a 13-game span in which the Leafs won only three times, the power play went 7-for-54 (13.0 per cent) despite a bevy of offensively talented forwards. Since defenseman Bryan Berard was injured in March, Toronto had dropped from sixth to 15th in power play ranking.NOTEBOOK There were reports in defenseman Bryan Berard would soon be receiving a surgically implanted contact lens in his damaged right eye that could give him the necessary 20/400 vision to return to the NHL. &ldquo;Not true,&rdquo; said agent Tom Laidlaw. &ldquo;The doctor made it clear from the beginning Bryan wouldn&rsquo;t go from not seeing enough to pass the test to suddenly passing the test. He said it would help a little, but not that much.&rdquo;&hellip;The Leafs summoned left wing prospect Alexei Ponikarovsky from the minors for his NHL debut, a 3-1 loss to Tampa Jan. 10.- Paul Hunter &#9632;

f0022-02

Leafs, Lindros insist talks far from dead

<h2>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS</h2>Statistics provided by National Hockey League; Players are listed by uniform number, name, games played (GP), minutes played (Min), goals-against average (GAA). wins (W), losses (L), ties (T), empty-net aoals (EN), shutouts (SO), goals against (GA), shots against (SA), save percentage (SP). For goalies&rsquo; individual rankings see page 29.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01909/7447319-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="743" height="854"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02613/7447312-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="749" height="1096"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03459/7447305-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="763" height="1084"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04355/7447298-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="763" height="1080"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

IN THIS ISSUE

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021056/7445569-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="236" height="236"></div>There&rsquo;s no place like home &mdash; unless you&rsquo;re a member of the Montreal Canadiens.The Canadiens began a critical stretch of home games Jan. 10 that could well dictate whether the team will make the playoffs or miss them for the third consecutive season.A 2-1 loss to Boston marked the first of eight games Montreal will play at home in the month, culminating Jan. 28 against Ottawa. In between, the Canadiens play only two road games.Most teams would welcome a stretch at home. But not tne canadiens, wno were omy o-m-z at the Molson Centre. Only Florida, Nashville and Calgary had poorer home records.&ldquo;We have to start winning at home,&rdquo; said defenseman Sheldon Souray. &ldquo;Playing at home is different, because the fans expect you to win. We have very knowledgeable fans. They know if you make a mistake and they let you know it. That&rsquo;s their right.&rdquo;The Canadiens were 12 points out of the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference at mid-season.MVP&nbsp;Brian Savage: It may be by default because he&rsquo;s healthy. Savage was the Canadiens&rsquo; leading scorer, with 15 goals and 29 points through 43 games. He had six goals in four games at the end of December and had seven goals and two assists over a seven-game stretch. His play improved markedly with the return of playmaking center Saku Koivu.MISSING ELEMENT The Canadiens are in desperate need of offense. They were averaging fewer than 2.5 goals per game, putting too much pressure on the defense and goaltenders. The team only had two scorers in double digits &mdash; Savage (15) and Dainius Zubrus (11). For the second consecutive season, the Canadiens have been ravaged by injuries and the team doesn&rsquo;t have the depth to overcome personnel losses. A stretch of good health undoubtedly would help this team.NOTEBOOK For the first time this season, coach Michel Therrien paired Sheldon Souray with Eric Weinrich on defense. Souray had been playing with Patrice Brisebois. &ldquo;(Weinrich) is very solid,&rdquo; Souray said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not flashy, but he gets the job done. He covers for me when I pinch and I do the same for him.&rdquo;&hellip;Rookie defenseman Andrei Markov, who speaks virtually no English, now rooms with right winger Gino Odjick on the road. The Canadiens hope that will improve Markov&rsquo;s linguistic skills. Previously, Markov roomed with Russian-speaking forwards Oleg Petrov, Dainius Zubrus or Andrei Bashkirov.- Herb Zurkowsky &#9632;

f0018-02

Canadiens hope home cooking can spark a spirited playoff run

<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/f0002-011562/7444429-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"></div>Golden GirlAngela James celebrates Canada&rsquo;s fourth consecutive World Championship in 1997, one of many shining moments in her brilliant career.<h2>Editor&rsquo;s Notebook</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021311/7444422-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="295" height="343"></div>Angela James made a New Year&rsquo;s resolution that has changed the face of the game.The best player in the history of women&rsquo;s hockey decided Dec. 31 to retire &mdash; a monumental, if entirely understated, development. When Wayne Gretzky retired, hundreds of thousands of fans begged him not to. When Angela James, long called the &lsquo;Wayne Gretzky of women&rsquo;s hockey,&rsquo; officially retired early in January, hundreds of thousands of fans would have begged the question - &ldquo;Who is she?&rdquo; That is, had they known James informed the Toronto powerhouse Beatrice Aeros that she was finished.James, 36, was the dominant force in women&rsquo;s hockey for much of the 1980s, before giving way to a generation of stars following a path blazed by the woman from the Toronto projects. James owned the ice surface as a teen, collegian and senior level superstar. &ldquo;She was, by far, the most dominant player in women&rsquo;s hockey,&rdquo; says Beatrice coach Ken Dufton. &ldquo;She had a killer instinct whether she was burying a puck or delivering a bodycheck.&rdquo; When the 5-foot-6,160-pound center was in her prime, bodychecking was permitted in women&rsquo;s hockey.The honors and championships James earned during nearly three decades in organized hockey are too numerous to mention. Among them, though, are 15 national and four world championships. She remained an excellent player in the National Women&rsquo;s Hockey League this season, contributing seven goals and 24 points in 18 games. Her last goal, an unassisted effort, was scored Dec. 10 against Laval. But James decided playing hockey was too distracting from the No. 1 priority in her life &mdash; caring for a 14-month-old son, Christian. She will continue to referee and coach &mdash; leading Ontario&rsquo;s under-18 team at the 2001 National Challenge.Ontario Women&rsquo;s Hockey Association executive director Fran Rider says James has long been considered the Gretzky of the women&rsquo;s game, but now it&rsquo;s time she was known simply as the Angela James of hockey. James may have more in common with Gretzky before long. Look for James&rsquo; No. 8 to be retired by the OWHA and, perhaps, the Canadian Hockey Association. It has already been retired by Toronto&rsquo;s Seneca College, where she serves as senior sports co-ordinator.James could also become the first woman honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame. It has asked for the stick and sweater from James&rsquo; last game. It would be right and proper for the keeper of the game&rsquo;s flame to eventually ask something else of James - to join one of hockey&rsquo;s most exclusive clubs as a full-time member. &#9632;

f0002-01

Legendary women’s player James retires from game she dominated

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011807/7444460-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stu Barnes</figcaption></div><h2>Barnes a noble warrior</h2>Veteran at center of it all for SabresFrom incapable to indispensable, it has been a remarkable two-year turnaround for Stu Barnes.There were 17 games left in the regular season when the center came to Buffalo from Pittsburgh in March, 1999, in a trade for Matthew Barnaby. Barnes contributed zero goals and four assists during the rest of the regular season, though things improved in the playoffs when he turned on the red light seven times in 21 games.Last season was better; his 20 goals and 45 points were more on par with his abilities. This year, though, he has been exceptional. He had just nine goals and 23 points in 35 games, but his importance to the Sabres&rsquo; as No. 1 center and playmaker, key penalty-killer and dogged puck-pursuer transcends stats.The 30-year-old is the glue that holds together the one Buffalo forward line &mdash; Barnes, Miroslav Satan and J.P. Dumont &mdash; too strong to be torn apart. &ldquo;He has been our best player and I would say that by far,&rdquo; said Sabres&rsquo; coach Lindy Ruff.In past years, Ruff played Michael Peca and Curtis Brown against other teams&rsquo; top lines, but with Peca still AWOL as an unsigned free agent and Brown just back from a knee injury, Ruff has had to match strength against strength.As a result, Barnes&rsquo; minutes have jumped to an average of 19:33 per game from 17:23 last season. He has never played more during his 10-year career. Listed generously at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, he has been asked to shut down bigger, stronger opponents while still creating opportunities for Satan and Dumont.He has delivered on all expectations this season.<h2>NCAA ponders change</h2>Juniors could move to U.S. collegesThe NCAA is expected to vote in April on proposed rule changes that would allow players with Canadian major junior hockey experience to play U.S. college hockey.In general, under current rules, players forfeit NCAA eligibility by playing in the Canadian Hockey League or signing a CHL contract. Under the proposed changes, major junior players would have to sit out one hockey season while enrolled in college. They would also lose one year of eligibility for every S year of major junior they&rsquo;ve played.Tom Anastos, commissioner of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, said the restrictions are meant to ensure players are prepared for college academically.One of the principles behind the changes is that U.S. teenagers shouldn&rsquo;t be &ldquo;punished&rdquo; for life by the NCAA for trying the major junior option. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re concerned most about a U.S. kid who at a very early age makes a life-altering decision to enter major junior&hellip;and quickly realizes it&rsquo;s a mistake,&rdquo; said Lisa Dehon, an NCAA consultant in Kansas City.If the legislation is passed - Dehon says the chances stand at 50-50 - the changes would take effect for the 200203 season. The legislation has already been adopted by Division II schools.<h2>THN ONE-TIMERS</h2>Aces Bure, Hull responsible for one in five goals by teamsNo teams rely on individual goal-scorers like Florida and Dallas. Super-scorers Pavel Bure and Brett Hull are the only two NHLers who account for more than 20 per cent of their team&rsquo;s goals in games that they play. Bure led the way with 22 of the Panthers&rsquo; 92 goals or 23.9 per cent of team production. Hull was at 22.4 per cent with 24 of 107 Dallas goals. They were the only players contributing more than one in five goals their teams scored. Three others were in the 19 percent range &mdash; Tony Amonte, Chicago, 19.1; Peter Bondra, Washington, 19.1; and Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh, 19. 0GM RUMORS Latest rumblings have ex-Rangers&rsquo; GM-president Neil Smith as a candidate to eventually Bb replace Mike Milbury on the Island as GM and New Jersey super-scout and director of player personnel David Conte as a prime candidate to be brought in by new Florida owner-ship&hellip;Mario isn&rsquo;t the only Lemieux enjoying a great comeback. Claude Lemieux had eight goals in his first 13 games with Phoenix. Claude had 20 goals in 83 games last season.CHINNY-CHIN-CHIN The helmet chin straps belonging to Toronto&rsquo;s Shayne Corson and Darcy Tucker hang so low they practically drag along the ice, just like their knuckles on some nights when the brothers-in-law wreak silly havoc&hellip;Eight nations already have berths in the men&rsquo;s Olympic competition: Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, Russia, Switzerland, Canada and the U.S. Six more will qualify for the first round of Olympic competition Feb. 8-11 in separate competitions in Oslo and Klagenfurt, Austria. Three of four participants will advance from each of the following groups: Norway, Germany, Belarus, Ukraine; and Austria, Latvia, France, Denmark&hellip;When asked to comment on being lamed the best player in women&rsquo;s hockey history by the Hockey News MVP magazine, Angela James aid: &ldquo;I wish they would have thought that two years go when they were picking the Olympic team.&rdquo; James was a late cut by coach Shannon Miller from the 1998 canadian team and the wound has never healed. The olympics are the only major competition James didn&rsquo;t participate in during an illustrious career that ended with her retirement. The Beatrice Aeros are holding an Angela James Night March 4 at Toronto&rsquo;s Beatrice Ice Gardens before a game with the Montreal Wingstar. (See Editor&rsquo;s Notebook on pg. 2 for more on James.) &#9632;

f0003-01

FEATURES

Power Play

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011745/7444498-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Not every team carries players who do little else but fight, such as Stu Grimson and Dale Purinton.</figcaption></div>The Calgary Flames might be the NHL&rsquo;s second-busiest team in the fight department, but don&rsquo;t count on that trend continuing.That&rsquo;s because Flames&rsquo; rookie GM Craig Button doesn&rsquo;t like fighting. At least not those staged bouts that are an eyesore even to those who aren&rsquo;t opposed to the odd dust-up.&ldquo;Fighting should occur out of the play,&rdquo; Button said. &ldquo;It shouldn&rsquo;t be a case of, &lsquo;We have a fighter and you have a fighter so let&rsquo;s put them out because they have to fight.&rsquo;&rdquo;The Flames had 38 fights in their first 42 games, two fewer than the league-leading St. Louis Blues, who had 40 in 38. But don&rsquo;t blame Button. He took over a team that was mostly built in the image of departed GM Al Coates, director of player personnel Nick Polano and coach Brian Sutter - three tough customers you don&rsquo;t want to run into in a dark alley.Don&rsquo;t get Button wrong; he&rsquo;s not entirely opposed to fighting. He simply hates to see a couple of meatheads line up at the faceoff, discuss the impending bout and then, as soon as the puck falls, drop their gloves for a meaningless scrap.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s dumb; I want guys who can play,&rdquo; Button said. &ldquo;I want guys like Randy McKay, Darren McCarty, Martin Lapointe, Steve Thomas. Those guys have worked on their game. They hit back when they&rsquo;re hit, but they don&rsquo;t go looking for fights. They play hard. They show up every night.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s true enough. But it could be argued McKay and McCarty were predominantly fighters when they broke into the NHL and only truly developing the rest of their game after they were accorded the space given to the league&rsquo;s best scrappers.The same goes for players such as Vancouver&rsquo;s Donald Brashear, Toronto&rsquo;s Tie Domi, Edmonton&rsquo;s Georges Laraque and Nashville&rsquo;s Scott Walker, among others.Fighting in today&rsquo;s NHL is, for the most part, a non-issue. According to league spokesman Frank Brown, the debate of whether or not it belongs in the game rarely surfaces.&ldquo;There are no fights in 60 per cent of our games,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;Fights, for the most part, occur from what eventuates from the game. They start, they finish, they&rsquo;re over.&rdquo;Through 615 games this season, there was an average of 1.13 fighting majors per game, compared to 1.08 at the same point last year.While St. Louis (40 fighting majors), Calgary (38) and a grittier Toronto (33) scrap nearly every game, some teams are turning the other cheek.The Washington Capitals, not usually known for their serenity, had just six fights, while the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings were next with 12 apiece.One GM, who requested anonymity, indicated he believes there&rsquo;s a place in the game for fisticuffs, but said he encourages his tough guys to be very picky about who they fight.&ldquo;My tough guys are good players and I don&rsquo;t want them fighting the other team&rsquo;s lunkheads,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mind if they fight another team&rsquo;s frontline players, though.&rdquo;He added that a few years ago, some of his players were penalized simply because of their reputations as tough guys. Since reducing their fighting frequency, he said it&rsquo;s less often that his team takes three or four more penalties than the opposition.With a league-leading 17 fights in 33 games, St. Louis rookie Reed Low was on pace to tie Florida bruiser Paul Laus&rsquo; 199697 NHL record of 39 fights in a season, but that was still slightly off Low&rsquo;s pre-season goal.&ldquo;I knew Laus held the record with 39 fights and I set my sights on 40 at the start of the year,&rdquo; said the 6-foot-3, 220-pound right winger.Low said he feels he has paid his dues after playing two seasons in the American League and a year in the East Coast League.&ldquo;I had 12 goals and 28 points in the AHL last year; I killed penalties and played on the power play&hellip;and I had 25 fights,&rdquo; he said.Low, like most fight majors, said his desire is to create room for his team&rsquo;s skilled players.&ldquo;If guys are going to piss around with my teammates, they had better be prepared to answer the bell,&rdquo; Low said.Fighting in the NHL is changing. Not all teams carry a designated goon and even teams with capable fighters, players such as Chris Simon and Brendan Witt of the Capitals, choose not to engage. Simon, who had 36 fighting majors over three seasons from 1993-94 through 199596, did not have one fight in his first 35 games this season and had just six a year ago.&ldquo;Guys can walk away (from fights) now,&rdquo; said one NHL GM. &ldquo;Ten or 15 years ago, they just couldn&rsquo;t do that. It wasn&rsquo;t the manly thing to do.&rdquo;<h2>Peace breaks out</h2>The NHL has seen war (1.07 fights per game, 1987-88) and peace (.119 FPG, &rsquo;61-62). Listed are total games played, total fighting majors and FPG in five-season intervals, going back to 1955-56. Asterisk (*) denotes numbers for this season and last are as of the same point in the schedule.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021489/7444491-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="535" height="448"></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

Hearing Taps for scraps?

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06462/7444557-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="356" height="607"><figcaption class="caption-body">Roger Neilson</figcaption></div><h2>Best of the Hockey World</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031216/7444578-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="127" height="58"></div>STAR REPLACEMENT Marty Turco is superb recording three straight wins after taking over from Dallas starter Ed Belfour, who went AWOL.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04984/7444571-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="127" height="58"></div>CLASS ACT Vancouver fans give Ottawa coach Roger Neilson a rousing ovation (complete with waving white towels) upon his return from cancer surgery.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05793/7444564-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="127" height="58"></div>LEMIEUX HOT Make that Claude Lemieux, who had eight goals and 12 points in his first 14 games with the Phoenix Coyotes.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>Worst of the Hockey World</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-07290/7444550-1-eng-US/f0004-072.jpg" title="f0004-07" width="111" height="58"></div>THE EAGLE HAS (CRASH) LANDED Dallas goalie Ed Belfour leaves the team in a huff after a disagreement with coach Ken Hitchcock.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-08199/7444543-1-eng-US/f0004-082.jpg" title="f0004-08" width="111" height="58"></div>BIG STEP BACK Canadian Hockey Association president Bob Nicholson says the answer to Canada&rsquo;s hockey woes is to ban imports from the CHL.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-09172/7444536-1-eng-US/f0004-092.jpg" title="f0004-09" width="111" height="58"></div>DOG DAZE The Mississauga IceDogs (who, by the way, have no imports) have just three wins and might be the worst junior team of all-time.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-10124/7444529-1-eng-US/f0004-102.jpg" title="f0004-10" width="353" height="607"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Belfour</figcaption></div>For Mike Brophy&rsquo;s daily Cheers & Jeers visit www.thehockeynews.com &#9632;

f0004-06

PLUS MINUS

One of Vic Hadfield&rsquo;s biggest thrills was wearing a New York Rangers&rsquo; jersey, so it should be no surprise that he still frequently visits the Big Apple.The owner of a golf center north of Toronto, where he lives with Myrna, his wife of 40 years, the 60-year-old Hadfield travels to New York often because it&rsquo;s home to several charities that he supports, including the Arturi Foundation for Leukemia Research, which he founded three years ago.&ldquo;I have a golf tournament every year in New York,&rdquo; said Hadfield. &ldquo;We raised a lot of money for the foundation and for research. We&rsquo;ve raised over $300,000 in three years and 100 per cent goes to research.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011736/7444609-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="235" height="276"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vic Hadfield</figcaption></div>Speaking of money, Hadfield - who also skated for Pittsburgh and scored 323 goals and 712 points in 1,002 games from 1961-62 through 1976-77 - said he&rsquo;s not bitter about the cash today&rsquo;s players earn, but added it wouldn&rsquo;t have happened when he played.&ldquo;You see guys with six or eight goals at this time of year making $3.5 million. Back in the &rsquo;60s, someone who had six goals at this time of year would probably be in the American League.&rdquo;&mdash; Jeremy Sandler &#9632;

f0005-01

DEPARTMENTS

Hadfield still a New York regular, but for golf, not goals

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011935/7444671-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div><h2>Win Cup? Capital idea!</h2>Where&rsquo;s Washington? It&rsquo;s crazy that the Capitals aren&rsquo;t in the top five of THN&rsquo;s weekly NHL rankings (thehockeynews.com)!Washington has been red-hot since mid-November, losing just six of 25 games, and they&rsquo;ve been absolutely unbeatable at home, where they haven&rsquo;t lost in nine outings, an NHL best this year.Goalie Olie Kolzig is on top of his game and Peter Bondra is scoring again. And the depth players grind down the opposition and chip in with timely goals.The result is the Caps are atop the Southeast Division - no large feat, admittedly. But they&rsquo;ve ruled the supposedly superior Western Conference the past two months, going 4-0-1-0.Despite having the second-best record in the East last year and going to the Stanley Cup final in 1998, the Caps are never mentioned as a contender. But no NHLer looks forward to a game in Washington. Here&rsquo;s hoping coach Ron Wilson&rsquo;s troops will make a Cup run this year and end the ridiculous treatment of one of the NHL&rsquo;s best franchises.Kern Young,Ashburn, Va.<h3>Post-expansion promise</h3>The Atlanta Thrashers were bad, very bad, last season, but this year&rsquo;s edition is vastly improved.It&rsquo;s only halfway through the season, but they&rsquo;ve already won more games and have more points than last year. Don&rsquo;t be surprised when the Thrashers win the Southeast and make their first playoff appearance this season.Ryan Harder,Saskatoon, Sask.<h3>Hab history will repeat itself</h3>Enough with the Hab bashing!The Montreal Canadiens are struggling and fans are bailing out faster than the players can get injured. All the talk is about how the Canadiens have missed the playoffs two straight years. But what about the 100 years and 24 Stanley Cup championships before that? The recent hard-ships in Montreal have been well documented, but this is the time that they need support. There&rsquo;s more glory ahead, Hab fans!Darren Hokos,Peterborough, Ont.<h2>Keep eve on super sophomore Gagne</h2>How come Simon Gagne gets no respect? He was a legitimate Calder Trophy nominee last year (but wasn&rsquo;t even on the ballot) and also had a great playoff. Now he&rsquo;s battling Alex Tanguay for the sophomore scoring lead and tops the Flyers in goals and points, but still gets little credit.David Stables,CalgaryThe Phoenix Coyotes are losing more money than they ever did in Winnipeg. Wayne Gretzky should buy them and move back to the land of the Jets!Tyler Dunn,WinnipegThis is in response to &ldquo;On the Hot Seat&rdquo; (THN, Jan. 5). With the inflated salaries in today&rsquo;s NHL, every player who cashes a paycheck should be on the hot seat.Michael Burr,Morgantown, W.V.Detroit parted with lots of youngsters to fill immediate needs en route to winning two straight Stanley Cups. That was fine, because they were so close. But why are they still giving away prospects for veterans? Igor Larionov is 40 and closing out a brilliant career, while Yan Golubovsky is just starting his.Luc Villeneuve,Aylmer, Que.If Mario Lemieux can come back after more than three years in retirement, why not Cam Neely?Jay Mann,Sanbornville, N.H<h2>Legends equally amazing</h2>Wayne Gretzky has been criticized recently, with the implication he can&rsquo;t stand the thought of being upstaged by Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s return. Some suggest that No. 66 was always second fiddle to No. 99 and Gretzky wants to keep it that way.Say what? For starters, Lemieux was second to no one. As great as Gretzky was, Lemieux was his equal. In fact, Lemieux&rsquo;s physical tools and 1-on-1 skills were superior to Gretzky&rsquo;s.Keep in mind, Edmonton won a Stanley Cup a couple of years after Gretzky left, while the Penguins have struggled on and off the ice in Pittsburgh since Lemieux retired.In any case, to suggest Lemieux was second to Gretzky is like suggesting Pablo Picasso was second to Vincent Van Gogh.Though never stated by either player, the media always seems to pit the two superstars against each other. Their styles were different, but netted similar results. Both were artists on the ice. Both were winners.Jim White,Baxley, Ga.<h3>Pick Perreault, Canada</h3>With Toronto coach-GM Pat Quinn set to serve as Team Canada&rsquo;s coach at the 2002 Olympics, I&rsquo;m surprised there hasn&rsquo;t been a push for Maple Leafs&rsquo; center Yanic Perreault to be included on the team.An outstanding faceoff man, Perreault will be 30 in 2002 and will have enough experience to handle the key draws for Canada. He also scores his share of goals and is a sniper on breakaways, just in case there&rsquo;s another shootout.Brent Griffin,Calgary<h3>Lemieux OK in U.K.</h3>This is in response to the Mario Lemieux letter entitled &ldquo;Stay retired.&rdquo; (THN, Jan. 5)On the contrary, I think it&rsquo;s great to see Lemieux back in action - and what a start! Here in England, I&rsquo;ve been lucky enough to see some NHL games and I&rsquo;m convinced that Lemieux&rsquo;s return will only be good for the game and Jaromir Jagr.Barry Vitler,East Sussex, England<h2>READERS&rsquo; ONE-TIMERS</h2>This is your place for quick comments on current hockey events. Reader&rsquo;s One-Timers accepts opinions of 60 words or less, so please be concise. &#9632;

f0006-01

LETTER OF THE WEEK

<h2>Teammates to battle at home in All-Star Game</h2>Colorado Avalanche teammates Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg will be in the faceoff circle as opponents in the NHL All-Star Game. The starting lineup for the 51st midseason classic, Feb. 4 in Denver, was determined by fan balloting. Final results were announced Jan. 13, but several players had starting jobs locked up earlier. Sakic was the leading North America All-Stars votegetter at center and will be joined by wingers Paul Kariya of Anaheim and Theo Fleury of the New York Rangers. On defense are Colorado&rsquo;s Ray Bourque and St. Louis&rsquo; Chris Pronger, while the Avs&rsquo; Patrick Roy is in goal. Joining Forsberg on the World All-Stars&rsquo; starting lineup are wingers Jaromir Jagr of Pittsburgh and Pavel Bure of Florida. Detroit&rsquo;s Nicklas Lidstrom was the top vote-getter on defense and Buffalo&rsquo;s Dominik Hasek in goal. The World All-Stars will be coached by Ottawa&rsquo;s Jacques Martin with New Jersey&rsquo;s Larry Robinson serving as his assistant. St. Louis&rsquo; Joel Quenneville will guide the North America All-Stars with Colorado&rsquo;s Bob Hartley as his assistant. The positions went to the coaches of the teams with the best winning percentages as of Jan. 7.<h2>MarioCam debuts on CTV with mixed results</h2>TV viewers got a chance to watch Mario Lemieux on isolation camera in a CTV Sportsnet experiment called &lsquo;Sixty Minutes with 66.&rsquo; Lemieux&rsquo;s two-goal effort in Pittsburgh&rsquo;s 5-2 loss to Boston Jan. 9 was telecast on two channels by CTV. The second channel featured a split screen with a Lemieux isolation camera following his every move, even on the bench. A smaller portion of the screen followed the game&rsquo;s action, while another provided Lemieux&rsquo;s game stats. &ldquo;It was a qualified success,&rdquo; said Scott Moore, Sportsnet vice-president of production.&ldquo;We gave the viewer a different perspective on how Lemieux plays the game.&rdquo; Media analysts had some issues with the MarioCam. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t do much of anything that would justify an entire channel to himself,&rdquo; wrote Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star. &ldquo;When no such (offensive) opportunity presents itself,&rdquo; wrote Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun, &ldquo;a one-minute Lemieux shift often can be exciting as watching paint dry.&rdquo; Most agreed, however, the isolation channel has a future in certain circumstances. The CTV initiative is a first in North American sports. &#9632;

INSIDE HOCKEY

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello</div>If Jason Spezza and Ilya Kovalchuk didn&rsquo;t know what each other looked like at the start of the season, they&rsquo;ll be sick of one another by the time the 2001 NHL entry draft takes place.Spezza and Kovalchuk were each given top billing by the NHL Central Scouting Service&rsquo;s mid-season rankings and will likely be the first two picks June 23-24 in Sunrise, Fla. Spezza, a center for the Ontario League&rsquo;s Windsor Spitfires, is rated the No. 1 North America skater, while Kovalchuk, a left winger for Spartak in Russia, is the top skater on the European list.That status endorses what The Hockey News reported after the World Junior Championship in Russia, when both skaters were rated No. 1/2 in a two-horse race that is dead even.&ldquo;They are both outstanding, young hockey players,&rdquo; said CSS director Frank Bonello. &ldquo;It depends what you want. Spezza appears to be more mature than Ilya, although Ilya is a little quicker. Spezza seems to be more even-tempered, while the other guy has more highs and lows. They&rsquo;re both very talented.&rdquo;Kovalchuk entered the WJC as the top draft prospect according to most scouts and he played well in early games. Spezza got better as the tournament progressed and was named to the all-star team.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen enough of Spezza to know he&rsquo;s for real,&rdquo; Bonello said. &ldquo;His puckhandling is outstanding.&rdquo;Plymouth center Stephen Weiss is the No. 2-rated North American skater (fourth overall by THN) followed by Prince George defenseman Dan Hamhuis (10th overall by THN).No. 2 on the European list is Russian winger Alexander Svitov (fifth overall by THN) followed by Finnish winger Tuomo Ruutu. No. 5 in EuroDe is Russian winger Stanislav Chistov (third overall by THN).The top two CSS-rated goalies are Halifax&rsquo;s Pascal Leclaire and Kootenay&rsquo;s Dan Blackburn, ranked eighth and ninth overall by THN.&ldquo;Overall it&rsquo;s another strong year,&rdquo; Bonello said. &ldquo;It will measure up to the last few years with North Americans and Europeans. You might see 12 or so Europeans in the first round.&rdquo;<h2>Ban on Europeans?</h2>The head of the Canadian Hockey Association doesn&rsquo;t want Europeans on major junior teams in North America.Bob Nicholson told reporters he would like to see a ban on the Canadian Hockey League permitting each of its 54 teams to have up to two imports.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking after Canadian hockey and if I don&rsquo;t stand up for the Canadian player, who will?&rdquo; Nicholson said.Nicholson said the issue will be on the agenda at the CHA&rsquo;s May meeting with the CHL. CHL president David Branch will gauge at a February meeting how the 54 major junior teams feel about the matter.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m somewhat surprised with the comments,&rdquo; Branch said. &ldquo;I wonder if Bob wasn&rsquo;t speaking with some emotion at being disappointed with a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship.&rdquo; &#9632;

Central scouting endorses Spezza, Kovalchuk race

<div class="byline">By THN staff</div>A lawyer, a mentor and a Predator are the latest recipients of the Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; coach Scotty Bowman and Nashville Predators&rsquo; GM and executive vice-president David Poile were named 2001 winners Jan. 10. They will be honored at a luncheon in New York March 23.Bettman, 48, is in his ninth season running the NHL. A lawyer by schooling, he&rsquo;s the most powerful man in hockey, ranked No. 1 on THN&rsquo;s list of 100 People of Power and Influence (THN, Jan. 5).Since joining the NHL in 1993, Bettman has enlarged significantly the league&rsquo;s presence in the U.S. Under his direction, the NHL has grown from 24 teams to 30, including 21 in the U.S., seven more than when he started.Bettman has had a hand in everything from broadcast deals to Olympic participation to business partnerships to rule changes. He secured the league&rsquo;s first U.S. national television agreement in 20 years.He has also learned to combine the role of sports commissioner with the demands of running an entertainment company.Bowman, 67, is the winningest coach in NHL history. Now in his 29th season, he has had his named engraved on the Stanley Cup nine times (eight as head coach) - five with Montreal, two with Pittsburgh (once as coach) and two with Detroit. Bowman also guided St. Louis and Buffalo.Bowman won his 1,000th career regular season game Feb. 8,1997, and has an NHL-record 205 playoff victories. He was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1991 and was slotted No. 10 on THN&rsquo;s list of 100 People of Power and Influence.Poile, 51, has had a hand in building an NHL franchise in three U.S. markets: Atlanta, Washington and now Nashville.With almost 30 years experience as an executive, Poile was named assistant GM of the Atlanta (Calgary) Flames before moving on to Washington as GM and vice-president for 15 years.The Northeastern University grad also served as GM of the U.S. national teams at the World Championship in 1998 and 1999. &#9632;

Bettman, Bowman, Poile win Lester Patrick Award

<div class="byline">Chuck Carlton THN columnist</div>The worst wounds are the ones that are self-inflicted.All the slights, all the taunts in all the arenas, all the skeptical articles combined pale in comparison to what Ed Belfour did to himself one Saturday morning in Boston.He can&rsquo;t blame his equipment this time. Or the failure to read the warning label on cold medicine (&ldquo;Do not operate heavy machinery. Do not play goal in the Stanley Cup final.&rdquo;) Nor was Belfour&rsquo;s latest act of lunacy explainable by the combination of demon rum and a pretty smile, like his arrest last year at a luxurious Dallas hotel For what Belfour did, there are no excuses. None.By now, you know the basics. He wanted to start a game against the Bruins Jan. 6, even though coach Ken Hitchcock had designated rookie Marty Turco before the team even left home.Twice in the previous month, Hitchcock had considered starting Turco and then changed his mind. Now he stood behind his decision. Complications ensued. Belfour refused to go on the ice to fill the role of backup at the morning skate. He and Hitchcock had words.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011827/7444781-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="376" height="379"></div>Belfour then made a decision that will mark the rest of his season, maybe the rest of his career. He left and didn&rsquo;t stop until hopping a jet back to Dallas.Belfour abandoned teammates with whom he had won a Stanley Cup. Most have clashed with coaches in their career, some with Hitchcock. You blow off steam or go out ror a couple pops or call your agent for the GM when you get back to the hotel. But you stay.Because Turco played great in Belfour&rsquo;s absence and the team won twice without him, the damage to the team was limited.Not so to Belfour, as he will discover. Is there any way that Wayne Gretzky, Pat Quinn and company will risk a sequel to Belfour&rsquo;s performance with Team Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics? Belfour can book a nice, two-week vacation now.The Stars&rsquo; leadership group of seven veterans wasn&rsquo;t amused and let Belfour know it upon his return.&ldquo;We had concerns and one of our biggest concerns was why he came back,&rdquo; said captain Derian Hatcher. &ldquo;Does he just want to collect a paycheck or did he come back to win?&rdquo;Belfour said he wanted to win and the Stars allowed him back. &ldquo;Welcomed&rdquo; might be too strong a word. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re back at ground zero now and looking to move forward,&rdquo; Hitchcock said.Belfour sounded reasonable.&ldquo;We got together and talked about things and there will be positive things to come from it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Hitch is a fair person. He&rsquo;s an easy person io talk to once he&rsquo;s calm and the same with me. Once we talk about things, we&rsquo;ll make better solutions.&rdquo;Then again, Belfour had ample opportunity to talk before padding his frequent-flyer miles.He had just begun to bury his reputation as &lsquo;Crazy Eddie,&rsquo; a goaltender whose orbit sometimes exceeded Pluto.Belfour stories abound, some apocryphal, some true, few complimentary.Now all of them will be believed again.You think people will remember how he outplayed Dominik Hasek in the 1999 Stanley Cup final? Or his duel with Martin Brodeur last season?This isn&rsquo;t an indictment of Belfour, the person. He&rsquo;s basically a simple guy who likes hunting and fishing, fast cars and good times. He has shown his warm side on occasion, like the time he rented Maple Leaf Gardens in its last season and brought in friends from around North America for a game of shinny.But few people remember that generous side anymore, in light of one selfish act.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021377/7444774-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="291" height="396"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Belfour</figcaption></div>When he returned to the Stars after a three-day absence, he met for 90 minutes with Hitchcock, GM Bob Gainey and assistant GM Doug Armstrong.Some have tried to transfer at least part of the blame to Hitchcock and his iron-willed approach. But Hitchcock had been anything but inflexible with Belfour. When Belfour first signed with the Stars, home game day skates were 10 a.m. Too early for me, Belfour said, and skates now start at 10:30 a.m.He practices if he feels like it or does his own version of a workout. Being told &ldquo;no&rdquo; just once is hardlv Persecution.Basically, Belfour is back because his few options &mdash; forcing a trade, retirement &mdash; were unappealing. The club allowed him back because Turco probably can&rsquo;t deliver a long playoff run yet and Belfour&rsquo;s value exceeds the headache factor for now.But what if Belfour continues to struggle &mdash; he ranked just 17th in save percentage (.908) &mdash; and Turco performs? What happens this summer with Belfour ready to make $6 million next season? And most significantly, would we even be raising these questions if not for what happened in Boston?If Belfour wants to know exactly who to blame, he should find a mirror. &#9632;

f0008-01

COLUMN

Stars’ Belfour his own worst enemy

<div class="byline">By Rick Carpiniello</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011721/7444812-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"></div>There&rsquo;s a misconception the New York Rangers are playing run-and-gun hockey this season.The truth is, the Rangers had allowed a league-high 156 goals by playing awful defensive-zone hockey and had scored so many (136, fifth in the NHL) because of their power play, which was lethal for most of the first half of the 2000-01 campaign.It is an interesting blend of savvy and skill that drives the Rangers&rsquo; power play, a unit that, with the same personnel except for center Mark Messier, somehow started last season a brutal 9-for-113.This year, with Messier back, it started the season 8-for-21 and remained atop the NHL until a five-game dry spell just before mid-season. Through games of Jan. 11, it was clicking at a 19.9 per-cent efficiency, but had fallen to sixth overall.When it&rsquo;s operating as designed, here&rsquo;s how the Rangers&rsquo; power play works:Messier plays at the halfboards, most often on the right side of the ice and commands the puck&rsquo;s movement.He&rsquo;d be considered the quarterback, except the Rangers&rsquo; power play really has three quarterbacks. There is Messier along the wall, Theo Fleury at the right point and one of the best power play quarterbacks in league history, Brian Leetch, at the left point.Leetch&rsquo;s contributions are huge. He has the ability to transport the puck the length of the ice and gain the zone, has the moves and hand skills to fend off aggressive penalty killers once inside the blueline and has a panic threshold that is off the charts. Leetch also possesses an uncanny knack for knocking down clearing attempts and keeping them in the zone.Fleury, who had one measly power play goal all of last season under former coach John Muckier, has flourished in the same role as a point man this season. In Fleury&rsquo;s case, nobody asks how, just how many Through Jan. 11, he had eight goals and an NHL-best 27 points on the power play.Adam Graves does his part by being fearless and immovable in front of the net. Graves has, through his career, also become one of the game&rsquo;s better players at deflections and converting rebounds. While he had just one power play goal this season, his presence in front was invaluable. Every time he has been removed from the Rangers&rsquo; power play throughout his career, the unit has stumbled.<h2>A Broadway Hit</h2>The Rangers&rsquo; power play was the best in the NHL for much of the first half, but dipped to sixth (19.9 percent efficiency) early in the new year. New Jersey (24.2 per cent) now has the NHL&rsquo;s top-ranked power play. Here&rsquo;s how the Rangers&rsquo; No. 1 unit sets up.The fifth piece of the puzzle is Valeri Kamensky, who possesses a combination of skill and quickness. Kamensky flits around the offensive zone &mdash; his right-handed shot faces Messier most of the time &mdash; while the other four players take their battle stations. Kamensky has struggled terriblj both at even strength and on the power play, but he keeps getting opportunities to shine. On the power play he had four goals; overall, he had 11 goals and 23 points in 36 games.There have been a few times when Kamensky&rsquo;s power play time has been given to Mike York, but the veteran left winger still gets the lion&rsquo;s share.The second unit of Petr Nedved, Radek Dvorak and Jan Hlavac or York, rarely gets on the ice for the first 1:30 of the power play and sometimes not at all. That group isn&rsquo;t so stringent in its setup and has had some of its success on the rush.The Messier-Leetch-Fleury-Kamensky foursome also provides many options, since each of the four can carry the puck into the zone. Or they can ring il around to the strong side. Leetch often sneaks in from the weak side, especially when Graves has tied up one or two defenders in front.Through 42 games, Messier, Fleury and Leetch each had almost an equal number of points on the power play as at regular strength. Messier was tied for second in the the league with 10 power play goals; Fleury (19) was second in power play assists. Fleury (first) and Leetch (seventh) were among the top 10 in power play points.The Rangers were also doing it without one of the components usually associated with good power plays - the cannon shot from the point. Neither Leetch nor Fleury will ever be confused with a flame-thrower such as Al Maclnnis. Leetch, who had a neck nerve injury in 1992-93, a shoulder injury in 1994, a wrist injury in 1997 and a broken forearm in 1999-2000, is healthy and his shot has gained considerable power this season.But the Rangers&rsquo; power play had some troubles as the first half wore down. In a five-game stretch (0-4-0-1) the Rangers were l-for-27 and their &ldquo;potent&rdquo; offense had just nine other goals in the winless streak.&ldquo;Power play, penalty killing, special teams, everything goes in cycles,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re never going to go through, at the torrid pace we were going, for all 82 games. We&rsquo;ve hit a bit of a slump on the power play. But I don&rsquo;t foresee a problem on the power play.&rdquo;Said coach Ron Low: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to give up on the power play. It has been our bread and butter. Does it perplex me? Yeah. It bothers me when we&rsquo;re not scoring. But that&rsquo;s the way power plays go. There are ebbs and flows and right now we&rsquo;re in a down cycle.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-01

COVER STORY

How Rangers play with power

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03811/7444843-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="639" height="524"></div>PART 1THIS WEEKTHN&rsquo;s choices for major trophies, all-stars and the NHL&rsquo;s most noteworthy teams, based on the season&rsquo;s first half.PART IINEXT WEEKTHN&rsquo;s exclusive Report Card issue grades every NHL player and provides reviews on their performances.Had Sean Burke pulled this Terry Sawchuk imitation a decade ago in New Jersey, he wouldn&rsquo;t have changed the NHL&rsquo;s big picture any more than a missed offside. Chris Terreri would have been the No. 2 man and Burke No. 1, not the other way around. The Devils would have finished a few games over .500 instead of one game under. Other than that, zilch.Sixteen teams made the playoffs in 1990-91, nearly 80 per cent of a 21-team league. The Minnesota North Stars were 12 games under .500 and made it. Vancouver was far worse than that and they made it, too.To miss the post-season in 1990-91 a team had to be unlucky &mdash; Philadelphia had 76 points yet was stuck in a tough Patrick Division (ah, the memories) &mdash; or, more often, unbearable. Quebec&rsquo;s 16 lamentable wins didn&rsquo;t make the graae.Funny how nine new teams since then have put a quick end to that 80-game dress rehearsal talk. Come this April, 16 make it to the dance and nearly as many go home failures.The Burke of 2000-01, a most improbable yet deserving pick as THN&rsquo;s mid-season MVP and Vezina winner, has been nothing short of sensational. If Burke had been only average thus far, the Phoenix Coyotes would be closer to winning the Jason Spezza/Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes than a playoff spot. (See pg. 39 for more on Burke.)Award-winning performances such as those now being put up by Burke, Al Maclnnis (THN&rsquo;s mid-season Norris pick), John Nabokov (Calder) and John Madden (Selke) are crucial to getting their teams in strong playoff positions. Clearly, the regular season matters in a way it didn&rsquo;t 10 years ago. &ldquo;Every game is being fought and clawed for,&rdquo; said Vancouver GM-president Brian Burke.Teams with serious problems are now doomed by first snowfall. The New York Islanders and Florida Panthers need to play .650 hockey from here on in to have a prayer. It&rsquo;s not yet February and their seasons are as futile as fan appreciation night in Carolina. In a gate-driven league it can be devastating financially. Crowds thin out with two months left. Pity the guy responsible for off-season ticket sales. No wonder the trial balloon floated last season by Glen Sather about moving to 20 playoff teams is starting to sound like a fine idea.&ldquo;Like it or not,&rdquo; said Ottawa GM Marshall Johnston, &ldquo;the reality is&hellip;something is going to have to be done to give more teams a fighting chance. And expanding the playoffs would do that.&rdquo;Said St. Louis GM Larry Pleau: &ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s something people will look at for sure. People want to see their teams in the playoffs. They want to root for them as long as they can.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s far from a consensus on the issue. Brian Burke said he likes the status quo and is concerned about diluting the importance of the regular season, but that club ownership has the final say Likewise, two Eastern Conference GMs said they were opposed to adding more playoff teams, but that their owners would probably support the move because it would maintain late-season interest and give them a chance for playoff revenue.Parity being what it is versus a decade ago, another two playoff spots per conference could see the vast majority of teams still in the playoff hunt entering the season&rsquo;s final days.The major problem is logistics &mdash; how to get 20 teams down to eight for the final three rounds. Byes likely won&rsquo;t fly because they deny the best teams homeice playoff revenue. The bottom four teams in each conference could play a short preliminary round, but some, including Pleau, see a best-of-three series as bush league. A best-of-five would add an extra week to the season at minimum.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how we could accomplish that from a scheduling standpoint,&rdquo; Brian Burke said, &ldquo;without starting training camp in August and ending the Stanley Cup in July.&rdquo;What does Sather, said to be the most vocal proponent of the idea, envision? Not sure.Last year with Edmonton, Sather saw more playoff berths as a way to help struggling Canadian franchises. As GM-president of the spiraling New York Rangers, he was mysteriously hard to track down for comment. Too busy trying to coax his new club into that tight 16-team post-season, we can only assume.<h2>BASEBALL PLAYS PLAYOFF HARDBALL</h2>Major League Baseball is North American major pro team sports&rsquo; most discriminating league. Only eight of 30 teams, 27per cent, earn berths in the post-season. &#9632;

f0010-03

MID-SEASON REPORT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021147/7444930-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="691" height="768"><figcaption class="caption-body">Patrick Lalime</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011617/7444937-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="205" height="235"></div><h2>VEZINA TROPHY</h2>1. SEAN BURKE&nbsp;CoyotesLeague leader in save percentage, allowed two or fewer goals in 26 of 32 starts; in four other starts, he surrendered just three.2. JOHN NABOKOV&nbsp;SharksSurprising San Jose rookie first in wins, second in SP, third in GAA.3. PATRICK LALIME&nbsp;SenatorsAmong three-star selection in 16 of 27 starts; eight times, picked first star.4. ED BELFOUR&nbsp;StarsShut out oppontents league-high seven times; shut out his teammates once.5. CURTIS JOSEPH&nbsp;Maple LeafsNumbers not phenomenal, but when Toronto wins, it&rsquo;s usually due to &lsquo;Cujo.&rsquo;6. PATRICK ROY&nbsp;AvalancheHas slowed after strong start. GAA by month: Oct. &mdash; 1.76; Nov. &mdash; 2.08; Dec. &mdash; 2.66.7. OLAF KOLZIG&nbsp;CapitalsMirror image of last season: Mediocre start followed by domination.8. MANNY FERNANDEZ&nbsp;WildMinnesota stopper has best-ever SP (.922), GAA (2.07) of any expansion goalie.9. BRENT JOHNSON&nbsp;BluesNot enough games played (17) to rank higher, but 1.60 GAA is NHL&rsquo;s best.10. ROMAN CECHMANEK&nbsp;FlyersSaving grace in Philadelphia lost just once in 11-game stretch after Dec. 2.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03764/7444923-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="1534" height="1590"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sean Burke</figcaption></div><h2>HART TROPHY</h2>1. SEAN BURKE G&nbsp;CoyotesRemarkable showing; .938 SP is best explanation for Phoenix&rsquo;s winning record.2. JOE SAKIC C&nbsp;AvalancheScoring binge coincided with Avs&rsquo; injury woes; has produced when needed most.3. ZIGGY PALFFY RW&nbsp;KingsPoints-per-game average of 1.4 best in league by anybody not named Mario.4. AL MacINNIS D&nbsp;BluesAt 37, playing with a gritty edge last seen in 1998-99 Norris Trophy campaign.5. JOHN NABOKOV G&nbsp;SharksShooters unable to find technical flaws; more than holding up under No. 1 workload.6. THEO FLEURY RW&nbsp;RangersHandful of late-game penalties only blemish on record; outstanding on PP and PK.7. BRIAN LEETCH D&nbsp;RangersIn near-Norris form. Sorry minus-16 reflects team ineptitude at even strength.8. JASON ALLISON C&nbsp;BruinsFactors in on 44.8 per cent of Bruin goals, still a league high.9. DOUG WEIGHT C&nbsp;OilersRingleader on one-line team tops NHL with 20 PP assists. No drop-off after Guerin deal.10. PIERRE TURGEON C&nbsp;BluesLevelled off after great start, but still producing with limited ice time (18:30 average).<h2>NORRIS TROPHY</h2>1. AL MacINNIS&nbsp;BluesAgeless veteran continues to blast goals and play underrated defense. His plus-29 is easily tops in the league.2. BRIAN LEETCH&nbsp;RangersPlaying 31-plus minutes; 94-point pace would be &lsquo;D&rsquo; best since his 102 in &rsquo;91-92.3. CHRIS PRONGER&nbsp;BluesEarly-season inconsistency noticed by Blues, though not necessarily opponents.4. ROB BLAKE&nbsp;KingsContract sideshow unfortunate distraction to fine year; fourth in league in shots.5. ED JOVANOVSKI&nbsp;CanucksHas shown more willingness and ability to jump up into Vancouver&rsquo;s attack.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04590/7444916-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="699" height="774"></div>6. NICKLAS LIDSTROM&nbsp;WingsStats down from past years, but Wings&rsquo; thin blueline means importance at all-time high.7. SCOTT STEVENS&nbsp;DevilsNothing unexpected - except when forwards don&rsquo;t have head up coming over blueline.8. SERGEI GONCHAR&nbsp;CapitalsSolid play key to Caps&rsquo; resurgence; point total will improve for fourth season in a row.9. RAY BOURQUE&nbsp;AvalancheHas lost a step in own zone, but experience, offensive instincts still valuable.10. SERGEI ZUBOV&nbsp;StarsWell-rounded two-way effort, steady 26-plus minutes per game earn praise.<h2>BEST TEAMS</h2>1. ST. LOUIS BLUESGoal differential of plus-57 blows away rest of NHL; New Jersey next at plus-43.2. COLORADO AVALANCHESupreme depth allows them to thrive despite injuries to key players such as Peter Forsberg, Chris Drury, Adam Foote.3. SAN JOSE SHARKSFew weaknesses on club with balanced attack, stellar goaltending and sturdy defense.<h2>MOST EXCITING TEAMS</h2>1. PITTSBURGH PENGUINSThese four lines of full-out offense were fun to watch before Mario. Alexei Kovalev, thanks for finally being all you can be.2. COLORADO AVALANCHEA high-octane juggernaut led by the one-two punch of Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg can strike anytime, anywhere.3. NEW YORK RANGERSGoals, goals and more goals is the only sure thing. Not even the Rangers know which team will score last.<h2>MOST BORING TEAMS</h2>1. MINNESOTA WILDThe surprising Wild are a resounding success, but it doesn&rsquo;t make Jacques Lemaire&rsquo;s system any more fun to watch.2. BOSTON BRUINSIf you enjoy endless cycling down low, this is your team. If you&rsquo;re gambling on the Bruins, bet on the 1-1 tie.3. ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKSWith the Kariya-Selanne duo underperforming, there&rsquo;s not much left to see (Vitaly Vishnevski&rsquo;s open-ice hits excepted).<h2>CALDER TROPHY</h2>1. JOHN NABOKOV&nbsp;SharksIf not for Sean Burke and Mario, he&rsquo;d be the story of first half.2. BRAD RICHARDS&nbsp;LightningVincent Lecavalier&rsquo;s pal running away with rookie scoring race.3. BRENT JOHNSON&nbsp;BluesWith 15-2-0 record, .929 SP, a candidate for U.S. Olympic team?4. MARTIN HAVLAT&nbsp;SenatorsDynamic forward has already posted seven-game point streak.5. COLIN WHITE&nbsp;DevilsTough, playoff-hardened blueliner a rookie in name only.6. LUBOMIR VISNOVSKY&nbsp;KingsMost impressive stat for skilled defenseman is plus-14.7. FILIP KUBA&nbsp;WildNearly 23 minutes per game for a rookie &lsquo;D&rsquo;? He has earned it.8. SHANE WILUS&nbsp;HurricanesCannon-like shot, willingness to get dirty help produce five PP goals.9. DMITRI KALININ&nbsp;SabresTwenty-year-old skating defenseman showing plenty of poise.10. TOMI KALLIO&nbsp;ThrashersScouts love gritty winger with good hands; injuries have slowed him.<h2>FAST FACTS COMPARISON 1999-00 2000-01</h2>Stats are through the first halves of the 1999-00 (578 games) and 2000-01 (616 games) seasons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011747/7444909-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="550" height="547"></div><h2>SELKE TROPHY</h2>1. JOHN MADDEN&nbsp;DevilsHard-Working soph center may lead NHL in SH goals for next decade.2. MARIAN HOSSA&nbsp;SenatorsCall him a great defensive player who can also light it up some.3. JERE LEHTINEN&nbsp;StarsBack into top checking/skating/scoring form after ankle injury.4. CRAIG CONROY&nbsp;BluesDefensive conscience at forward on NHL&rsquo;s best defensive team.5. MIKE RICCI&nbsp;SharksEnjoying fine season while higher-scoring mates get attention.6. SHJON PODEIN&nbsp;AvalancheCareer mucker crashes net at both ends, but knows &lsquo;D&rsquo; is job one.7. KIRK MALTBY&nbsp;Red WingsAnnoying pest whose feet, mouth rarely stop moving.8. STU BARNES&nbsp;SabresBuffalo&rsquo;s king of versatility excels in all roles.9. TODD MARCHANT&nbsp;OilersScoring at career-high pace, still a major nuisance for opposition.10. MIKE SULLIVAN&nbsp;CoyotesInvaluable faceoff man appreciated to the max by coaches, teammates.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021388/7444902-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="1541" height="1204"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Nabokov</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03898/7444895-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="1468" height="1200"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Madden</figcaption></div><h2>FIRST ALL STAR TEAM</h2>GOALIESean Burke CoyotesCredits goalie coach Benoit Allaire for rise.DEFENSEMENAl Maclnnis BluesContinues to amaze with high level of playBrian Leetch RangersOn pace to log 42-plus hours in regular season.FORWARDSMarkus Naslund, LW CanucksAssumed Canuck leadership in room, on ice.Joe Sakic, C AvalancheIn line for fat UFA contract this summer.Ziggy Palffy, RW KingsImproved conditioning is paying off.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04525/7444888-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="661" height="962"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Sakic</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-05375/7444881-1-eng-US/f0012-052.jpg" title="f0012-05" width="588" height="965"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ziggy Palffy</figcaption></div><h2>SECOND ALL START TEAM</h2>GOALIEJohn Nabokov SharksLast rookie goalie all-star: Ed Belfour in &rsquo;90-91.DEFENSEMENChris Pronger BluesCrisp passes pay off; 18 of 31 assists on PP.Rob Blake KingsPoint-a-game pace thus far a personal best.FORWARDSLuc Robitaille, LW KingsContinues to take abuse in order to score.Doug Weight, C OilersElite playmaker leads league in assists.Theo Fleury, RW RangersNHL-high 14-game point streak in December. &#9632;

f0011-02

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021127/7445017-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="268" height="379"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Leclerc</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011617/7445024-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="220" height="220"></div>Call them the sturdy dozen. Twelve players selected by THN as mid-season team MVPs were also first quarter choices. Here are the two lists; the first-half MVPs are highlighted in the team reports.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03827/7445010-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="265" height="376"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Sullivan</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-04696/7445003-1-eng-US/f0013-042.jpg" title="f0013-04" width="574" height="753"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-05553/7444996-1-eng-US/f0013-052.jpg" title="f0013-05" width="271" height="379"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Savage</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-06461/7444989-1-eng-US/f0013-062.jpg" title="f0013-06" width="268" height="382"><figcaption class="caption-body">Greg Johnson</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-07422/7444982-1-eng-US/f0013-072.jpg" title="f0013-07" width="580" height="676"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-08394/7444975-1-eng-US/f0013-082.jpg" title="f0013-08" width="265" height="382"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Weekes</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-09367/7444968-1-eng-US/f0013-092.jpg" title="f0013-09" width="271" height="382"><figcaption class="caption-body">Markus Naslund</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0013-02

Half-time Highs: 30 Team MVPs

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-10345/7445055-1-eng-US/f0013-102.jpg" title="f0013-10" width="229" height="265"></div>With their chances of landing a playoff berth in the top-heavy Western Conference looking increasingly slim, the Miehtv Ducks of Anaheim made a subtle, but significant move toward the future by recalling goal! Jean-Sebastier Giguere from Cincinnati of the American League.After summoning Giguere Jan. 7, the Ducks tried to assign veteran backup Dominic Roussel to Cincinnati, but lost him to a waiver claim by Edmonton three days later.While veteran Guy Hebert will remain the club&rsquo;s No. 1 goalie, the Ducks want to get a handle on Giguere&rsquo;s progress.&ldquo;Jean-Sebastien has played well and he deserves an opportunity here,&rdquo; said coach Guy Charron.&ldquo;He brings some youth, some energy and I think players feed off those things. We are very confident that he can play very well for us.&rdquo;The Ducks acquired Giguere, 23, from Calgary for a second round entry draft selection last summer. In 23 games with Cincinnati, Giguere was 12-7-2 with a 2.43 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.MVP Mike Leclerc: Until pain in his right knee forced the second-year left winger out of the lineup Dec. 28, he had been Anaheim&rsquo;s most consistent offensive performer this season. In 40 games, Leclerc was tied for the team lead with 12 goals and ranked second with 30 points. Two MRI exams of Leclerc&rsquo;s injured knee revealed no serious damage and Anaheim expected him back in the lineup soon.MISSING ELEMENT The Ducks have a number of significant problem areas, but the most notable is a porous defense that is among the league leaders in goals allowed. It should be noted injuries to key forwards Steve Rucchin and Paul Kariya makes it difficult to judge the team as a whole.NOTEBOOK Center Tony Hrkac decked St. Louis center Pierre Turgeon during a fight in the third period of a 4-2 Blues victory Jan. 10. The fight was the first in the NHL for both players, each of whom first appeared in the league in 1987&hellip;Right winger Marty McInnis set a career high with four points, including two goals, in a 4-4 tie with visiting Calgary Jan. 5.- Dan Wood &#9632;

f0013-10

Giguere recalled for progress check

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-11315/7445086-1-eng-US/f0013-112.jpg" title="f0013-11" width="217" height="253"></div>Last year Petr Buzek was one of the NHL&rsquo;s feel-good stories &mdash; former top prospect gets into a horrific car wreck, rehabilitates from iniuries. works his way into the NHL and makes the all-star garni in his first full NHL season with the Atlanta Thrashers.This year, Buzek&rsquo;s story has been nothing but disappointing. An early-season hit from behind by Washington&rsquo;s Steve Konowalchuk has caused the defenseman to suffer headaches and dizziness every time his heart rate increases due to exercise. Atlanta now concedes Buzek may not be back this season.&ldquo;Right now, it doesn&rsquo;t look like he&rsquo;s coming,&rdquo; said GM Don Waddell.Buzek was hit in the second game of the year, concealed his concussion-like symptoms from the coaching staff and played the third game before revealing his condition. He has made some progress, but that leveled off in December.The 23-year-old said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still hoping I&rsquo;ll be able to play this year.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Donald Audette: The veteran winger couldn&rsquo;t have picked a better time to have a career season. Audette is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season and was among the league&rsquo;s scoring leaders with 21 goals and 51 points in 40 games. He was on pace to better his career high of 31 goals with Buffalo in 1991-92 and it&rsquo;s a lock he will eclipse his personal best for points - 59 in 1993-94.MISSING ELEMENT The Thrashers had allowed more than 30 shots per game and are in need of defensive help. Part of it stems from injuries. Seven different defensemen have missed games with injuries this season, including three for all or a major portion of the year: Buzek, Gord Murphy (shoulder surgery) and Adam Burt (herniated disc).NOTEBOOK Any delusions that scoring 16 goals in his first full NHL season earned Dean Sylvester a free ride for a while with the Thrashers were smothered when the right winger was reassigned to Orlando (IHL). Sylvester had just three goals and five points in 32 games and had gone without a point in 22 games. He was a healthy scratch nine times this season.- Jeff Schultz &#9632;

f0013-11

Latest chapter sad one for Buzek

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-13237/7445117-1-eng-US/f0013-132.jpg" title="f0013-13" width="766" height="895"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-12277/7445124-1-eng-US/f0013-122.jpg" title="f0013-12" width="238" height="262"></div>Mike Keenan got his thoughts about Joe Thornton out of his system one day For the next two days, the Boston Bruins got more from the 21-year-old center than they had in a month.Thornton had just three goals and six points in an 11-game span between Dec. 8 and Jan. 6, prompting his coach to assess the development of the 1997 draft&rsquo;s No. 1 overall pick.&ldquo;Joe&rsquo;s not doing what&rsquo;s expected of him,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;I think Joe&rsquo;s got to come to grips with himself - whether he wants to be a good player or not. Joe Thornton has the potential to be the best centerman in the league.&rdquo;Thornton responded with four assists in a 5-2 victory over Pittsburgh Jan. 9 and scored his 13th goal the next night in a 2-1 win at Montreal.&ldquo;I think the more he pushes me, the better I&rsquo;ll be,&rdquo; Thornton said. &ldquo;I want him to say this kind of stuff. It gets me motivated.&rdquo;MVP Jason Allison: If there were questions about how Allison would come back from major wrist surgery, the Bruins&rsquo; new captain answered them in the first half. Before his first slump (four scoreless games Jan. 5-10), Allison had figured in exactly half of Boston&rsquo;s first 96 goals with 18 goals and 48 points.MISSING ELEMENT The Bruins got almost no offense from their defensemen through the halfway mark and that situation didn&rsquo;t figure to improve when Darren Van Impe had Jan. 10 shoulder surgery that&rsquo;s expected to sideline him for the rest of the regular season. Van Impe led Boston&rsquo;s blueliners in scoring with three goals and 13 points.NOTEBOOK Boston&rsquo;s power Play broke an 0-for-36 slump when defenseman Brandon Smith scored against Pittsburgh Jan. 9. Smith separated his shoulder the next night at Montreal.- Mike LoftusALLISON UNCHAINED After a slow start and a coaching change, the Bruins were riding captain Jason Allison&rsquo;s strong play into playoff contention. &#9632;

f0013-13

Keenan lights fire under Thornton

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-14204/7445155-1-eng-US/f0013-142.jpg" title="f0013-14" width="217" height="253"></div>Backup goalie Martin Biron left Sabres&rsquo; coach Lindy Ruff little choice but to start him in consecutive games even though star netminder DommiK Hasek was healthy and willing to play.Ruff couldn&rsquo;t ignore Biron&rsquo;s play in 2-0 wins over the Islanders Dec. 30 and Nashville Jan. 6 and started him the next game, a 2-1 loss in San Jose Jan. 9.It marked the first time in more three years a healthy Hasek sat two straight games.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think (Hasek) is happy that he&rsquo;s not playing, and I don&rsquo;t think he should be,&rdquo; Ruff said before the San Jose game. &ldquo;I think (Hasek) looks at it as a challenge. I think there are 15 teams in the league that would like to trade (places) with us.&rdquo;While Biron&rsquo;s 1.88 goals-against average and .932 save percentage were better than Hasek&rsquo;s numbers (2.41 and .911), it&rsquo;s likely the Dominator will remain the&rsquo;No. 1 goalie.MVP&nbsp;Stu Barnes: An aboveaverage playmaker who is rarely caught out of position in his own end, Barnes has helped the Sabres overcome the absence of restricted free agent captain Michael Peca and Curtis Brown&rsquo;s injury.MISSING ELEMENT The Sabres have played well without him, but they would be much stronger if they signed Peca. He&rsquo;s coming off a poor season with 20 goals and 41 points, but the Sabres need him or a replacement if they want to contend for the Stanley Cup.NOTEBOOK After pleading his case to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, right winger Rob Ray&rsquo;s suspension for abuse of an official was reduced from 10 games to seven&hellip;Center Curtis Brown, who missed eight games with a sprained knee, returned for the Sabres 3-2 loss in, Los Angeles Jan. 11&hellip;After a 2-1 loss Jan. 9, Buffalo was 0-5-3 in its last eight games in San Jose &hellip; Safe bres&rsquo; GM Darcy Regier, in the 7 last year of his contract, was nearing an extension that would a keep him in Buffalo.- Bucky Gleason &#9632;

f0013-14

Biron poetry in net, Dominator displaced

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011740/7445186-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="220" height="244"></div>How does a team lose eight players to concussions in less than a month?It was a headache that had members of the Calgary Flames&rsquo; medial staff scratching their heads as the team reached mid-season.Dr. Winne Meeuwisse, chairman of the NHL physicians&rsquo; injury committee, believes there isn&rsquo;t a single isolated reason why six Flames&rsquo; players suffered concussions or concussion-like symptoms in a span of only four games.The tally: Phil Housley, Mike Vernon, Brad Werenka, Jason Wiemer, Marc Savard, Toni Lydman, Oleg Saprykin and Denis Gauthier.The good news is four of the eight were cleared by play for a 2-1 win over Nashville Jan. 11: Housley, Vernon, Savard and Gauthier.Asked about the rash of injuries, team captain Dave Lowry said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s frustrating from a players&rsquo; standpoint, because a lot of times, they (concussions) are symptomless and show up a couple of days later with headaches and a lethargic feeling. A lot has to do with the glass and the size of the players.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Marc Savard: He began the year unsigned, but missed just three games. In the next 38 games &mdash; Savard missed two with a concussion&mdash;he had 37 points. Savard is the offensive catalyst on what is shaping up to be a fairly effective No. 1 line. Good on faceoffs and important to the team&rsquo;s December power play surge, Savard has both of his linemates, Jarome Iginla and Cory Stillman, on their way to career years.MISSING ELEMENT Offense. Excluding the lockout season of 1994-95, the only time the franchise has failed to score 200 goals in a season was its inaugural year, 1972-73, when they were the Atlanta Flames. But following their 43rd game this year, the Flames were on pace for only 197 goals.NOTEBOOK Goaltender Mike Vernon says he&rsquo;s looking to stay on in Calgary once his contract expires following the season, even though he occasionally gets booed by the hometown fans. Vernon is back in the lineup after suffering a concussion; following a shaky start, he was a respectable 9-14-3 overall.- Eric Duhatschek &#9632;

f0014-01

Concussions baffle Flames’ doctors

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021306/7445224-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="244" height="253"></div>Rob DiMaio received much less fanfare than Carolina&rsquo;s other off-season acquisitions, but he has been getting lots of attention on the ice.Acquired in an August trade with the New York Rangers, his aggressive style has been a godsend for the team, and because of it, DiMaio has become a favorite of fans and teammates.&ldquo;You see what he brings every night,&rdquo; said Hurricanes&rsquo; captain Ron Francis. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a feisty competitor. He understands what it takes and he brings it every night.&rdquo;DiMaio has been willing to mix it up with other teams, something the Hurricanes had largely been lacking. His intensity has spread during games to some teammates.&ldquo;We need his grit,&rdquo; said Carolina coach Paul Maurice.MVP&nbsp;Arturs Irbe: The goalie held the team together during what could have been a disastrous stretch and has played every game for more than two months. Some of Irbe&rsquo;s best games came against the NHL&rsquo;s best teams and while others have made positive contributions the past few weeks, Irbe&rsquo;s steady performance all season made him the team&rsquo;s key player.MISSING ELEMENT The Hurricanes need consistency on offense. Through 40 games, only three players had reached double digits in goals. Early January sparks from Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour and Martin Gelinas were encouraging, but those surges must be maintained in order to end the Hurricanes&rsquo; offensive woes.NOTEBOOK Right winger Shane Willis&rsquo; four assists against the Islanders Jan. 7 set a franchise record for rookies&hellip;Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Jan. 5 and was expected to be out until mid. January&hellip;For the second year in a row, the Hurricanes scored a season-high seven goals in their 40th game. The seven goals Jan. 9 against the Panthers were scored by seven different players.- Bob Sutton<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03896/7445217-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="709" height="1033"></div>EYE OF THE STORM Hurricanes&rsquo; goalic Arturs Irbe has been a rock in net for low scoring Carolina. &#9632;

f0014-02

DiMaio delivers much-needed edge

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04611/7445255-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="219" height="246"></div>Alpo Suhonen has several regrets about how his first season as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks has progressed.None are bigger than the poor way the Hawks started the season, winning just two of their first 10 games.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t have our best team because of certain contract situations,&rdquo; Suhonen said. &ldquo;At least four or five of our best players (at camp) should have been here. Chris Herperger and Chris McAlpine, both those guys made the team. Mike (Smith) even told them it was not fair they had to go down.&rdquo;Since the start of the season the Hawks have cleared roster space by moving out veterans Kris King, Blair Atcheynum, Doug Zmolek and Mark Janssens and going with youth. Their 6-3 win on Long Island Jan. 9 made them 7-2-1 in 10 games.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got all these young players playing now and that&rsquo;s a huge plus,&rdquo; Suhonen said. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s not that we&rsquo;re doing this with two weeks left in the season to get them experience.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Steve Sullivan: It&rsquo;s hard to imagine how far down the Hawks would be without the consistent scoring of right winger Steve Sullivan. He had a team-leading 39 points on 18 goals and 21 assists, helping give the Hawks a solid second line scoring threat with Michael Nylander.MISSING ELEMENT The Hawks need a bigger commitment to team defense. Alexander Karpovtsev returning from knee surgery should help. Witt better defense and a surge from a poor power play, the Hawks might be able to make a run at a playoff spot.NOTEBOOK The Hawks were set to assign defenseman Steve McCarthy, back from the Canadian national 1 junior team, to ft Norfolk of the AHL for a two-week &ldquo;conditions&rsquo;ing stint. &hellip; But when Alexander Karpovtsev cut his hand Jan. 7, McCarthy played Jan. 9. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to go back to juniors, I know that for sure,&rdquo; McCarthy said.- Tim Sassone &#9632;

f0014-04

Suhonen committed to youth program

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05409/7445286-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="247" height="256"></div>Adam Deadmarsh struggled coming off the injured list, as did Peter Forsberg and Chris Drury.The three players form one of Colorado&rsquo;s top tines, uui uie goals haven&rsquo;t been there.Forsberg, whe spent two games on the third line with Shjon Podein and Eric Messier, was reunited with Deadmarsh and Drury for a game against San Jose Jan. 4.&ldquo;We were definitely in a situation where we weren&rsquo;t playing well,&rdquo; Deadmarsh said. &ldquo;We all came back from injuries around the same time and we just weren&rsquo;t where we were before we got hurt. We&rsquo;re starting to get there now.&ldquo;We feel pressure to produce.&rdquo; Forsberg, Deadmarsh and Drury were producing at the start of the season until injuries hit. A concussion sidelined Deadmarsh for 14 games, Drury was out 11 games because of a sprained knee and Forsberg sat out eight games because of a rib muscle injury.After going scoreless in 11 games, Forsberg netted two goals and three assists in three games since he starting centering Drury and Deadmarsh again. Drury, who had one goal in 11 goals, had goals in two consecutive games and Deadmarsh&rsquo;s streak of one goal in 14 gamed ended with a goal and assist in the San Jose game.MVP&nbsp;Joe Sakic: The captain is an easy pick as the Avalanche&rsquo;s first half most valuable player. In fact, he is The Hockey News&rsquo; choice as runner-up to Phoenix goalie Sean Burke as league MVP. (See pg. 11 for more.) Sakic stood as the team&rsquo;s and the league&rsquo;s leading scorer with 56 points and led the Avalanche in in goals (22), assists (34), points (56), shots (155) and plus/minus (plus-24).MISSING ELEMENT Colorado&rsquo;s penalty killing needs to improve. While the power play was clicking at a solid 20.8 per cent, fourth in the league, the Avalanche penalty killing unit was just 26th at 80.9% and even worse on the road.NOTEBOOK Right winger Adam Deadmarsh&rsquo;s wife, Krista, was expecting twins and enduring a tough pregnancy The couple was hoping the babies would not be prematurely. Center Joe Sakic and his wife, Debbie, who also had a difficult pregnancy before she recently delivered twins, offered support to the Deadmarshes. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve visited them,&rdquo; Sakic said. &ldquo;So far things are going well.&rdquo;- Jim Benton &#9632;

f0014-05

Buried by injuries, stars regain form

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021121/7445338-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="269" height="302"><figcaption class="caption-body">Saku Koivu Montreal</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011599/7445345-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="215" height="250"></div>Columbus right winger Kevin Dineen isn&rsquo;t trying to be evasive, only honest. When asked if he plans to retire after this season &mdash; his 17th in the NHL &mdash; Dineen could only respond with a maybe.&ldquo;I think about retiring all the time, I really do, Dmeen said. I used to say year to year, but now I&rsquo;m going month to month. I have to admit, it&rsquo;s out there (as a possibility). There&rsquo;s a lot to consider, not the least of which is my family and kids and my health. But I&rsquo;m really not sure where I&rsquo;ll stand at the end of the season.&rdquo;Dineen, 37, has played a valuable role with the Blue Jackets this season. He&rsquo;s isn&rsquo;t the captain - that&rsquo;s defenseman Lyle Odelein - but Dineen has been an inspiration to his teammates, both for the way he plays and the injuries he overlooks.Since mid-December, Dineen has played with a broken bone in his left wrist. His joint aches almost daily, he said. Still, he played in 36 of Columbus&rsquo; first 44 games and could still reach his goal of 70 games.&ldquo;You look at him on the bench, you know he&rsquo;s hurting, but when you call his name, he responds,&rdquo; said coach Dave King. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a rare, impressive thing.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Geoff Sanderson: Columbus was excited to nab the left winger in the expansion draft, but they never expected he would supply this much offense.Sanderson has been the Blue Jackets&rsquo; one consistent scorer this season, putting up 16 goals and 34 points while playing every game. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question, he has been our go&mdash;to guy,&rdquo; King said. &ldquo;He has given us a scoring punch we desperately need.&rdquo;MISSING ELEMENT King can handle losses. It&rsquo;s when the Blue Jackets beat themselves that the veteran coach gets frustrated.Simply, Columbus must improve their defensive awareness, especially in their own zone. The steady stream of blunders behind their own blueline was illustrated by their Western Conference-worst goals-against average (3.15).The Jackets&rsquo; goalies, Ron Tugnutt and Marc Denis, have played better than their numbers indicate, but have been the victims of too many turnovers.NOTEBOOK Goaltender Ron Tugnutt, out with a strained ligament in his right thumb, was expected back by mid-January&hellip;The Jackets held Colorado to 14 shots Jan. 10, a Columbus franchise low. But the visiting Avalanche still dumped the Jackets 4-2.- Aaron PortzlineICE INFIRMARY Medics in Montreal remain busy taking care of the Canadiens&rsquo; wounded this season, after an injury-ravaged 1999-2000. But in New Jersey, the Devils have health on their side as they defend the Stanley Cup. The average NHL team had lost 106 man-games to injury as of Jan. 12<h2>Most Man-Games Lost to Injury</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03787/7445331-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="917" height="262"></div><h2>Fewest Man-Games Lost to Injury</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04578/7445324-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="906" height="250"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-05400/7445317-1-eng-US/f0015-052.jpg" title="f0015-05" width="267" height="310"><figcaption class="caption-body">Petr Sykora New Jersey</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0015-02

Vet Dineen going ‘month to month’

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011528/7445376-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="246" height="258"></div>If the Dallas Stars found a positive in the Ed Belfour saga, it was the realization that Marty Turco can be as good as they think - and maybe better.Thrown into the breach when Belfour went AWOL following a dispute with coach Ken Hitchcock, the coolly confident Turco responded with three victories in a row, running his personal winning streak to five games.&ldquo;The only thing that bothered me was for my teammates - if something ever does happen to Eddie, in the playoffs or whatever, they think I can carry the load,&rdquo; Turco said. &ldquo;If they didn&rsquo;t think that before, hopefully they do now.&rdquo;Turco is the latest in a line of exceptional backups the Stars have developed. Both Roman Turek and Manny Fernandez were lost in the expansion draft.The 25-year-old rookie who played four seasons at the University of Michigan and two more in the International League, struggled early this season, allowing six goals to Carolina in his first appearance and enduring a month between starts. But he had stopped 161 of the last 166 shots he faced for a .970 save percentage.MVP&nbsp;Brett Hull: Any doubts about Brett Hull&rsquo;s ability to be an offensive force in the current NHL and within the Stars&rsquo; defensive-oriented system are being erased. With 24 goals after 41 games this season, he had equaled his total from last season and been a plus-player at even strength and, at times, a tenacious checker.MISSING ELEMENT Hitchcock has continually harped about puck strength and physical play. The Stars are not always a difficult team to play against. They no longer grind teams into submission and wear them down physically. Already they&rsquo;ve added veterans such as Benoit Hogue and Gerald Diduck and are getting better production from Shaun Van Allen. Expect another acquisition or two by GM Bob Gainey to fill the void.NOTEBOOK Left winger Benoit Hogue, 34, started his third stint with Dallas after he signed as an unrestricted free agent Jan. 5&hellip;At 34, Hogue is the youngest member of a line with center Joe Nieuwendyk and Brett Hull that coach Ken Hitchcock called &ldquo;The Over-The-Hill Gang.&rdquo;&hellip;Even though he didn&rsquo;t play, fans in Atlanta Jan. 11 took note of netminder Ed Belfour&rsquo;s return. &ldquo;Eddie the Weasel&rdquo; read one sign.- Chuck Carlton &#9632;

f0016-01

Bolting of Belfour lets backup shine

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03886/7445407-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="689" height="1176"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021179/7445414-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="212" height="233"></div>Inconsistency has plagued the Red Wings this season.In one 12-day stretch, the club lost twice to expansion Minnesota once in overtime decision to struggling Chicago, but notched wins over playoff contending Los Anopips defending Western comerence cnampion Dallas and top-ranked Colorado.Clearly the Wings lack something against opponents ranked below them, but both Avalanche coach Bob Hartley and Stars&rsquo; coach Ken Hitchcock said the Wings must still be considered Stanley Cup contenders.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to do it game-in and game-out, regardless of what team we&rsquo;re playing,&rdquo; said captain Steve Yzerman. &ldquo;When we play hard, play tight, play smart, we&rsquo;re pretty good. When we start playing fancy, trying to do maybe a little bit more than we should, we get killed every time.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Nicklas Lidstrom: Through all the turmoil of the first half &mdash; Yzerman missing 25 games and goalie Chris Osgood&rsquo;s celebrated struggles &mdash; Lidstrom was his usual, steady self. After a slow start, Lidstrom rocketed into the scoring leaders among defensemen. He quarterbacked high-ranked special teams and he continued making subtle, suffocating plays in his own end.MISSING ELEMENT Besides consistency, the Wings need better play in and around their own net. Osgood improved as December gave way to January, but he allowed awful goals 40 seconds into a game against Dallas Jan. 4 and 26 seconds into a game at Minnesota Jan. 5. Backup Manny Legace stumbled against Minnesota and against Pnlnradn Jan 7NOTEBOOK GM Ken Holland said he has not spoken to anyone about a goaltender and isn&rsquo;t interested &lsquo;in acquiring one right now&hellip;Left Winger Kirk Maltby went 18 games without a point before scoring on a shorthanded end-to-end rush against Colorado Jan. 7, after which he punched the air J and let loose a primal scream.KING OF WINGS Nicklas Lidstrom has been a steadying influence for Detroit.- Nicholas J. Cotsonika &#9632;

f0016-03

Yzerman sees red over lowly losses

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04664/7445445-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="217" height="242"></div>The third longest ironman streak in the NHL is over and the Edmonton Oilers hope their playoff hopes didn&rsquo;t end Center Todd Marchant, who had played 234 consecutive games dating back to Feb. 25, 1998, became the fourth Oiler felled by a shoulder injury this season when he separated his shoulder in a collision with Nashville&rsquo;s Cale Hulse Jan. 10.If he makes it back in three weeks, Marchant misses 10 games, nine against Western Conference opponents.Whenever Marchant returns, it won&rsquo;t be soon enough. The Oilers are fighting for their playoff lives and Marchant is one of their most consistent and versatile forwards, not to mention their third leading scorer and No.l penalty-killer.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a huge void in our lineup,&rdquo; said coach Craig MacTavish. &ldquo;No question.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Doug Weight: It&rsquo;s a coin toss between goalie Tommy Salo and captain Weight. Salo won last year and has been the team&rsquo;s backbone again this season, but Weight might be having the best year of his career. He&rsquo;s in contention for the Art Ross, he was their plus-minus leader for a spell and the first line (with Bill Guerin or Anson Carter) has all but carried this team all season. It&rsquo;s very close, but Weight by a nose.MISSING ELEMENT The Oilers need a shift disturber. They need to find themselves a Darcy Tucker-clone who can go out and change the momentum with a rambunctious, high-energy shift. This season, they&rsquo;ve lost to the likes of Montreal, Atlanta and Columbus because the energy wasn&rsquo;t mere. iney need a player to wake them up when the need arises.NOTEBOOK First string goalie Tommy Salo was run down after starting 41 of Edmonton&rsquo;s first 46 games and the Oilers hope waiver wire pickup Dominic Roussel (.895 save percentage in 13 games with Anaheim) is the answer as a steady backup&hellip;Left winger Josh Green leeded surgery to fix a dislocated right shoulder after 7 he missed the MW first 40 games of the season MF following surgery on his left shoulder.- Rob Tychkowski &#9632;

f0016-04

Idles of Marchant harm Oiler hopes

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011371/7445476-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="232" height="247"></div>Hitting the halfway point with eight wins didn&rsquo;t daunt Florida Panthers&rsquo; coach Duane Sutter from declaring the playoffs still possible.Sutter simnlv took A matbematicAl approach &mdash; cut the margin between the Panthers and eighth place to six points by the end of January.&ldquo;We do that, February and March will look after themselves,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t look at the big picture. It&rsquo;s too big of a mountain to climb.&rdquo;Franchise history says it&rsquo;s too big a mountain to climb anyway. Maybe it&rsquo;s the distraction of having too many friends and relatives coming down to escape winter. Maybe it&rsquo;s the mid-season blahs being harder to tolerate when it&rsquo;s hot and sunny outside.Whatever, the Panthers historically falter after January.Only one post-January month in a full NHL season, last March (7-6-1), has seen the Panthers have a winning record.MVP&nbsp;Mike Sitlinger: He wins faceoffs, kills penalties and, with Viktor Kozlov constantly coming off shoulder injuries, his speed has made him this season&rsquo;s best center for Pavel Bure.After 41 games, Sillinger was second to Bure among the Panthers in goals that tied a game or put the team ahead, despite missing 12 games himself with a broken foot. It was the most damaging injury to the Panthers this season.Sillinger had eight goals and 18 points in 30 games.MISSING ELEMENT On the ice, a top four defenseman would be a giant help. Most of this season has been spent with at least two legitimate NHL defensemen injured, not a good thing for a group deservedly maligned as a weakness on the team when all are healthy. Off the ice, a completion of the Panthers&rsquo; sale would provide a definite new direction for the franchise.NOTEBOOK When the Panthers beat Los Angeles 4-3 in the 40th game of the season, it was the first time they had won a game while allowing more than one goal&hellip;The first Sutter vs. Sutter coaching match that wasn&rsquo;t Darryl vs. Brian saw Darryl&rsquo;s San Jose Sharks beat Duane&rsquo;s Florida Panthers 3-1&hellip;Defenseman Yan Golubovsky, acquired in the Dec. 27 center Igor Larionov trade, saw his first practice shot after his promotion from Louisville (AHL) scare the Panthers. Golubovsky hit goalie Roberto Luongo in the throat. Luongo returned later in practice. That wasn&rsquo;t the only excitement at the rink that day. The practice also featured a fight between center Rob Niedermayer and defenseman Lance Pitlick.- David J. Neal &#9632;

f0017-01

Coach Sutter convinced January key to team making run at playoff position

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021052/7445507-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="225" height="256"></div>The Los Angeles Kings have turned their battered goaltending situation back over to Jamie Storr.The hot-and-cold goalie responded Jan. 6 with his ninth career shutout against Calcary and an impressive 3-2 wm over Buffalo Jan. 11. The put him back in the good book.Storr, the opening nigh starter after Stephane Fiset went down with the first of two serious knee injuries, had been struggling. Teamed with journeyman Steve Passmore, Storr and the Kings have been at the bottom of the league in goals against average and save percentage.&ldquo;Your best penalty killer is always your goalie,&rdquo; said captain Rob Blake. &ldquo;Jamie has been that guy for us. We need wins right now and will need him playing well down the stretch.&rdquo;Earlier this season, Storr made 17 consecutive starts that included an eightgame unbeaten streak. But he was worn out by the time Fiset returned and needed the help. Fiset lasted just seven games before re injuring his knee.MVP&nbsp;Ziggy Palffy: The Sloakian right winger was the league&rsquo;s second-leading scorer before missing eight games with a strained hamstring. The Kings lost six of eight game in his absence. Regarless of the time he missed, Palffy was still on pace for 47 goals, one shy of his single-season high set in 1996-97 with the Islanders, and for a career-best 106 points. Defenseman Rob Blake continues to be a strong presence despite distractions surrounding season-long wrangling over an extension or a trade. He led NHL defenseman in goals (14) and should surpass his personal high of 23, set in 1997-98 when he won the Norris TrophyMISSING ELEMENT The Kings will only go as far as their goaltending takes them. Most of the season, the Kings have been one of the best offense and worst defense in the league. They key is Storr, who at times has looked like the star they projected when they drafted him seven years ago. Other times, he has been ineffective. They can spot Passmore, who gave them a big lift with back-to-back wins over St. Louis and Dallas on the road, but was struggling by the end of the trip.NOTEBOOK Rugged left winger Stu Grimson tied a career high with his third goal of the season Jan. 12. He entered the season with 13 goals in 12 seasons&hellip; Right winger Ziggy Palffy had a goal and four points in his first two games back after missing eight with a strained right hamstring. He then sustained a concussion after being hit by Buffalo&rsquo;s Denis Hamel in his third game back Jan. 11. The concussion was not believed to be serious. &#9632;

f0017-02

Jekyll and Hyde goalie Storr holds key to Kines’ fortunes in second half

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011409/7445538-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="232" height="247"></div>Maxim Sushinsky went on a Wild ride this season. But it&rsquo;s over already. Sushinsky has left the Minnesota Wild and returned to his native Russia.A fifth round pick in last summer&rsquo;s draft, the 26-year-old Sushinsky led the Wild with seven goals at the quarter pole. But decreased ice time and homesickness were behind his decision to leave. Sushinsky, who doesn&rsquo;t speak English, returned with his wife, Elena, and six-year-old daughter Viktoria.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s too bad he couldn&rsquo;t mix with the other guvs, he was lonesome,&rdquo; said coach Jacques Lemaire. &ldquo;He was always very serious and never got in the mold of the team. It&rsquo;s too bad because he&rsquo;s a kid that has talent. But because he couldn&rsquo;t speak the language and understand what the guys were doing, it was tough for him.&rdquo;Wild teammate Sergei Krivokrasov, a fellow Russian and neighbor in Minnesota, criticized Sushinsky for not trying to adapt to the United States.&ldquo;It seemed he didn&rsquo;t want anything,&rdquo; Krivokrasov said. &ldquo;For me, it was frustrating because it wasn&rsquo;t appreciated. So basically, I see this guy doesn&rsquo;t care, so I might as well not help him at all. He didn&rsquo;t try to learn anything, he didn&rsquo;t do anything.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Manny Fernandez: He has only played half the games, but goalie Manny Fernandez has been better than expected. Through 42 games, he had been in goal for 13 of Minnesota&rsquo;s 14 wins with a 2.07 goals-against average (sixth in the NHL) and .920 save percentage. He also had three shutouts and an eight-game unbeaten streak and is a big reason why the Wild has exceeded expectations.MISSING ELEMENT Like all expansion teams, the Wild is struggling for goals. At mid-season, the Wild was last in the league. Coach Jacques Lemaire prefers a defensive style. Rookie Marian Gaborik is considered a future sniper, but the Wild now relies upon offense by committee. Right winger Scott Pellerin led the team with 24 points, the lowest among any team leader.NOTEBOOK Defenseman J. J. Daigneault was expected to tie Michel Petit for the NHL record for having played with 10 NHL teams. Daignealt, 35, was recalled from Cleveland (IHL) Jan. 11 for a game against Colorado Jan. 12&hellip;The Wild named a replacement for Pierre Page as head European pro scout. It&rsquo;s long-time Winnipeg Jet Thomas Steen&hellip;Defenseman Brad Bombardir is captain of the month for January. Coach Jacques Lemaire likes his rotating captains so much he said he is considering doing it permanently.- Tom Jones &#9632;

f0018-01

Language barrier, homesickness too much for Sushinsky to bear

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03744/7445600-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="250" height="235"></div>Scott Walker made what he called &ldquo;an investment&rdquo; during the off-season and all he has done since is reap the rewards.After feeling worn down at times last season after his nightly battles in the corners, the 27-year-old hired a personal trainer in tne summer, He adjusted his diet and arrived at training camp a chiseled 195 pounds.And he&rsquo;s having a career season. He had already tied his career high in goals with 15; Walker also had 15 goals in 1998-99 in 71 games with Nashville.After 44 games he was second in points at 34, behind center Cliff Ronning. He has spent much of the season on a line with Ronning and Patrie Kjellberg. He also had his first career hat trick, Dec. 26 against Colorado.Walker has consistently played with high energy and said he feels the off-season work has enabled him &ldquo;to play my game. Last season I didn&rsquo;t always feel like I could keep grinding and do the dirty work.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Greg Johnson: On a team that has struggled to overcome offensive woes, a case could easily be made for goalie Tomas Vokoun as he played hurt and lifted the team while Mike Dunham was injured. But it was center Greg Johnson who was almost indispensable. He has centered the team&rsquo;s checking line, logged tons of ice time and taken the majority of important draws.MISSING ELEMENT If they are going to claw their way into the playoff race, the Predators need to finish their scoring chances. They had been shut out seven times in 43 games and scored two or fewer goals in more than half their games. So what&rsquo;s the problem? Poor marksmen. Nashville is 12th in the league in shots on goal, but 29th &mdash; ahead of only the New York Islanders &mdash; in shooting percentage (8.22 per cent).NOTEBOOK Rookie right winger Scott Hartnell may play in the Memorial Cup if the Predators don&rsquo;t make the post-season. Hartnell, who has been with the Predators since the start of the season, had his rights traded by Prince Albert (WHL) to Regina. Regina, the host city for the Memorial Cup, has an automatic berth&hellip;Center Denis Arkhipov, 21, was recalled from Milwaukee (IHL) and had three points in his first two games on a line with Hartnell and left winger Marian Cisar, 22&hellip;Coach Barry Trotz, a Winnipeg native, was inducted into the University of Manitoba&rsquo;s Sports Hall of Fame&hellip;Center Cliff Ronning, 35, signed a contract extension that pays him $1.85 million next season and again in 2002-2003 if the team picks up his option. Ronning is making $1.75 million this season.- Jeff Legwold &#9632;

f0018-03

Well-toned Walker getting goals while personal trainer gets assist

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011303/7445652-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="274" height="292"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ray Bourque Colorado</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05369/7445659-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="238" height="259"></div>Player agent Mike Gillis might want to try coaching. His client, New Jersey center Bobby Holik, said Gillis helped him end a 17-game goal-scoring urougm Dy counseling him on managing his anger after being benched by coach Larry Robinson.&ldquo;I talked to my agent a few times and kmd of reflected on where I was, what went wrong and what I needed to do,&rdquo; said Holik, whose two goals against the Phoenix Coyotes Jan. 10 were his first since Nov. 29. &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m well on my way.&rdquo;Holik was benched for the third period and overtime of a 11 tie with Philadelphia Jan. 2.&ldquo;If you have an agent who cares, you discuss things,&rdquo; Holik said. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t help me technically. I figured it out on my own in my car. You have a lot of free time in a car in New Jersey. He tried to put me in the right frame of mind. I have to give him some of the credit. Obviously we talked (about the benching). Sooner or later (the scoring) was going to come.&rdquo;MVP Alexander Mogilny: Robinson calls Mogilny the Devils&rsquo; &ldquo;game-breaker&rdquo; and although the right winger had been credited with only two game-winners, he was the difference in at least six victories while becoming the first Devil to hit 20 goals.The speedy Russian&rsquo;s sniping has taken pressure off the team&rsquo;s top line of Patrik Elias, Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora. Mogilny had 14 goals in the Devils&rsquo; last 13 games, but was unimpressed by his overall output.&ldquo;What&rsquo;s so great?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I once had 50 goals by the all-star break. That was great.&rdquo;MISSING ELEMENT While rookie Mike Commodore played well in his first six NHL games and veteran Ken Sutton provided the Devils more than expected, there is little doubt GM Lou Lamoriello wants to add an experienced defenseman.NOTEBOOK GM Lou Lamoriello was not seriously involved in talks with Los Angeles for defenseman Rob Blake and would not consider dealing center Scott Gomez for the soon-to-be free agent defenseman&hellip;The Devils killed off 42 straight power plays over a span of 11 games Dec. 16-Jan. 10&hellip;Former coach Robbie Ftorek got his name on the Stanley Cup, received a championship ring and will soon be utilized as a special scout&hellip; Backup goalie Chris Terreri won his first game since Oct. 21 and ended a streak of 22 straight starts by Martin Brodeur going back to Nov. 4.- Rich ChereCASE IN POINTS Pavel Bure&rsquo;s Florida Panthers have gone south, while Ray Bourque&rsquo;s Colorado Avalanche has picked up even more momentum. The Avs posted the biggest improvement through 41 games compared to a year ago; Florida, meanwhile, barely managed half as many points.<h2>NHL&rsquo;s Biggest Gainers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02959/7445645-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="904" height="239"></div><h2>NHL&rsquo;s Biggest Losers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03643/7445638-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="917" height="244"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04491/7445631-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="271" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pavel Bure Florida</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0019-01

Double duty agent helps Holik score

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011195/7445690-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="215" height="238"></div>The Islanders were an injury-ravaged team as they limped to the midway point of the 82-game schedule with the fewest points in the NHL (28) and on pace for a worse season than last year.That&rsquo;s not exactly wna new owners Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar had in mind when they bought the team for nearly $190 million last summer and permitted GM Mike Milbury to boost the payroll by nearly $10 million.&ldquo;If you had told me at the beginning of the year that we would be the last-place team in the league, I would have been the most surprised guy in the world,&rdquo; said coach Butch Goring. &ldquo;I believe we have a better hockey team than that, there&rsquo;s no question about it.&rdquo;Goring&rsquo;s job appears safe for now and though fans at Nassau Coliseum have been chanting &ldquo;Mike Must Go&rdquo; for weeks, the new owners were preaching patience and it appears both men will survive until the end of the season. But without a marked improvement over the second half, neither will likely be around when the Isles arrive at the June entry draft with what figures to be their whopping 11th top 10 selection since 1996.MVP&nbsp;John Vanbiesbrouck: Only on the Islanders could a goalie 11 games under .500 midway through the season be the MVP. The 37-year-old goalie has kept the team in far too many games they didn&rsquo;t deserve to be in and his 2.72 goals-against average and .906 save percentage, belie his 6-17-4 record.MISSING ELEMENT The No. 1 draft pick, again. The Isles actually weren&rsquo;t completely terrible until injuries cost them key regulars Brad Isbister, Kenny Jonsson, Roman Hamrlik, Kevin Haller, Mats Lindgren and Eric Cairns for extended periods. All but Lindgren should be back by late January, perhaps costing the Isles a shot at the first overall pick.NOTEBOOK Left winger Brad Isbister, roughly 10 pounds lighter thanks to a diet of meal-replacement milk shakes since his jaw was broken Dec. 12, had the wiring removed and was targeting a mid-January return&hellip;The Islanders acquired left winger Craig Berube from Washington Jan. 11 for a ninth round selection in the 2001 entry draft.- Peter Botte &#9632;

f0020-01

More cash, still no flash in another lost season

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03581/7445721-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="609" height="1166"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02831/7445728-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="229" height="256"></div>Just when it looked as if New York Rangers&rsquo; goalie Mike Richter was getting his game back together, his rebuilt left knee acted up again.Richter had fluid drained from the knee Jan. 10, and though he hoped to not miss any games, it was a reminder Richter is not 100 per cent after reconstructive knee surgery last April.Richtpr who allowed tour goals or more in 12 of 20 starts, had begun to turn a corner, but was backsliding again. He played well in a 3-1 loss in Phoenix Jan. 4, (one goal was an empty-netter), but he gave up one questionable goal in a 5-5 tie with New Jersey Jan. 6 and then lost 2-1 to Dallas Jan. 8 when he allowed yet another soft goal.MVP&nbsp;Theoren Fleury: After a horrid 1999-2000 in which he had a career-worst 15 goals after signing a monstrous free agent contract, Fleury has flourished. He was among the NHL leaders in several offensive categories including goals (24), points (56), shorthanded points (7) and power play points (27).MISSING ELEMENT Defense. The Rangers gave up 3.73 goals per game in the first half, far and away the worst in the NHL. KM Richter was ranked 45th among regular NHL regular goalies and the defense corps was amongst the league&rsquo;s worst.NOTEBOOK Goalie Mike Richter passed Gump Worsley&rsquo;s team record for games played by a goalie (583) and was two wins shy of Eddie Giacomin&rsquo;s club-record 266 victories&hellip; Center Mark Messier was in a seven-game point drought at mid-season.SEARIN&rsquo; THEOREN Challenging for the league league lead in points, Theoren Fleury has had a renaissance in his second season in the Big Apple.- Rick Carpiniell &#9632;

f0020-03

Tender knee, soft goals plague Rangers’ Richter

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04380/7445759-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="219" height="245"></div>Ottawa assistant coach Roger Neilson isn&rsquo;t going to rest during his second battle with cancer in less than year.After being diagnosed Jan. 5 with the deadliest form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma &mdash; malignant melanoma &mdash; Neilson went against team president Roy Mlakar&rsquo;s orders anc joined the Senators for an eight-day, three-game Western road swing.Neilson who led Vancouver to the Stanley Cup final in 1982, was honored with a video tribute, standing ovation and fans waving white towels during the Senators&rsquo; 5-1 victory over the Canucks Jan. 10 at GM Place in Vancouver.Neilson, 66, is hopeful the disease hasn&rsquo;t spread after surgery to remove a cancerous lymph node. He said that he has been overwhelmed with the support he has received.&ldquo;A lot of people who contract cancer are in their 60s or 70s,&rdquo; said Neilson. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re scared to death. They&rsquo;re thinking about it a lot and if you get right up and get going I&rsquo;m sure it&rsquo;s the best. The response has been tremendous.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Patrick Lalime: A questionable No. 1 in training camp, the goalie is having an all-star season with a 17-8-2 record goals-against average and .927 save percentage at the halfway mark. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s really A done a great job for us,&rdquo; said Ottawa coach Jacques Martin.MISSING ELEMENT Defense, defense and more defense. Senators&rsquo; GM Marshall Johnston will if be looking hard to get a top, flight blueliner from a bottom-feeder holding a fire sale at the trade deadline.NOTEBOOK There was speculation center Vaclav Prospal, who played against Vancouver Jan. 10 after being scratched for five games, has asked for a trade&hellip;Ottawa is interested in Minnesota defenseman Sean O&rsquo;Donnell&hellip; Just four days after he returned from a broken foot, right winger Magnus Arvedson suffered a strained right knee against Vancouver Jan. 10 and was listed as day-to-day- Bruce Garrioch &#9632;

f0020-04

Coach Neilson attacks life as doctors attack cancer

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05215/7445790-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="223" height="248"></div>Flyers&rsquo; chairman Ed Snider went on a Toronto radio station Jan. 11 and told the hockey world the Flyers were breaking off trade talks with the Leafs.In addition to comnlainine that the Leafs had ottered &ldquo;absolutely nothing&rdquo; for Lindros, Snider claimed the Flyers had received substantial offers from other teams who were willing to deal more talent and take on more of the risk involved in dealing for Lindros.&ldquo;There are several teams which have offered us infinitely more than the Toronto Maple Leafs have,&rdquo; Snider said.&ldquo;I honestly feel Toronto thinks they have us over a barrel since they&rsquo;re the only team we&rsquo;re negotiating with, but they really don&rsquo;t. The one they have over the barrel is Eric. Eric belongs in the NHL, but we&rsquo;re not going to give him away&rdquo;Lindros told the Toronto Sun he remained committed to one day playing for the Maple Leafs.MVP&nbsp;Roman Cechmanek: The 29-year-old first-year netminder from the Czech Republic has been the team&rsquo;s most consistent performer. He took a 10-game (7-03) unbeaten streak into a Jan. 12 game at Tampa and he&rsquo;s the leader in the stars-of-the-game ratings. The unorthodox goalie has been among the league leaders in goals-against average (2.02) and save percentage (.920).MISSING ELEMENT John LeClair&rsquo;s back is still giving him trouble and Mark Recchi has been struggling to find his shooting eye, so the Flyers could use a sniper. And with captain Eric Desjardins quietly nursing a hamstring injury for much of the season, you could throw an offensive-minded defenseman on the wish list, too.NOTEBOOK Left winger John LeClair was scheduled to resume practicing with the Flyers Jan. 11, but experienced stiffness and soreness and was relegated to skating on his own&hellip;Center Daymond Langkow, eighth on the NHL&rsquo;s current ironman list led by Chicago right winger Tony Amonte&rsquo;s 287-game streak, played in his 200th straight NHL game Jan. 5 against Atlanta&hellip;If center Keith Primeau kept up his 32-goal pace, he would reach a new career high.- Wayne Fish &#9632;

f0020-05

Snider takes posturing to sports radio airwaves

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01954/7445821-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="214" height="262"></div>Daniel Briere got a wake-up call when nobody, not even an expansion team, claimed the 1996 first round pick when he was put on waivers earlier this season.But mstead of pouting about another assignment to Springfield in the American League, Briere got tough on himself. He pressed for more ice time, more defensive responsibilities and one more chance in Phoenix.In 30 games with the Falcons, he scored 21 goals and 46 points and when a knee injury felled Coyotes&rsquo; center Travis Green, Briere was summoned by the big club.In his first game back since October, Briere sparked a listless offense, setting up two power play goals and helping Phoenix salvage a 2-2 tie in Detroit Jan. 9.&ldquo;Danny has a particular flair for scoring and making plays and it was nice to see him get off to a good start,&rdquo; said Coyotes&rsquo; GM Bobby Smith. &ldquo;He can produce offense playing against third lines and someone other than top-four defensemen.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Sean Burke: The Coyotes&rsquo; veteran goalie was, arguably, the most compelling player in the season&rsquo;s first half and should be up for consideration for the Hart Trophy. After 33 starts, he had a 15-8-9 record, a league-best .938 save percentage and a 1.80 goals-against average, second in the NHL. In his eight losses, he had allowed more than two goals only twice and he had faced the fourth-most shots of anyone in the league.MISSING ELEMENT Goals, goals, goals. Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick have carried the load and even they&rsquo;ve endured a couple of big slumps. Recently, as many as seven forwards had gone at least 10 games without a goal.NOTEBOOK Incoming owner Steve Ellman reportedly secured a $20-million loan from a French bank to help finalize his and Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s takeover of the franchise. The group&rsquo;s latest extension to complete the deal is until Feb. 15&hellip;Even with restricted free agent goalie Nikolai Khabibulin&rsquo;s situation unresolved, it&rsquo;s believed the Coyotes have discussed offering goalie Sean Burke a two&mdash;to three-year contract extension.- Bob McManaman &#9632;

f0021-01

After soaring as a Falcon, Briere rises in Phoenix

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02568/7445852-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="217" height="252"></div>Maybe the best measure of Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s offensive onslaught was that teams were thrilled to hold him to two points.All the talk after a 5-2 loss to the Boston Drums was now the defense pairing of Hal Gill and Kyle McLaren kept the Penguins&rsquo; top line in check.To a certain extent, that was true, but Lemieux also scored two goals to give him six goals and 16 points in his first six games since coming out of retirement.Though unfailingly polite and co-operative with the media, lending all sorts of unprecedented access to reporters and television cameras, Lemieux grew frustrated in Boston with constant questions asking whether he welcomed physical play.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to answer this for the last time,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;The physical part is part of the game. If I didn&rsquo;t want to be physical, I&rsquo;d still be in the owner&rsquo;s box drinking wine and enjoying the game. Everywhere I go, it&rsquo;s talk about physical play. I&rsquo;m 6-4, 240. I&rsquo;m not a little guy.&rdquo;MVP&nbsp;Alexei Kovalev: The right winger was the best player among those who were with the team all season. Kovalev had 20 goals and 45 points in the first half, three behind Jaromir Jagr for the team lead. Kovalev hadn&rsquo;t gone more than two consecutive games without a point and led the team&rsquo;s forwards in hits with 58.MISSING ELEMENT The Penguins need to get physical. A banging winger or a large defenseman or another center who can win big faceoffs would all be useful. Pittsburgh was last in the league in faceoff percentage for most of the first half and three losses this season to the relatively big Bruins underscore the Penguins&rsquo; need for more bangers.NOTEBOOK Center Mario Lemieux said he would play in the All-Star Game if, as expected, he is invited&hellip;The Penguins are considering asking for more Tuesday home games next season to cut down on the number of back-to-back games Lemieux will have to play&hellip;For the first time all season, the team had eight healthy defensemen and several season-long blueline regulars, including Jiri Slegr and Hans Jonsson, were healthy scratches.- Joe Starkey &#9632;

f0021-02

Damage control the goal against magnificent Mario

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03339/7445883-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="235" height="272"></div>In the wake of Pavol Demitra&rsquo;s serious eye injury, two player&rsquo;s have elected to wear visors.They are Demitra&rsquo;s friends, linemates and Slovakian countrymen Michal Hanazus and Lubos Bartecko. Handzus has been experimenting with a visor during practices. He&rsquo;ll wear it in a game once he gets a new helmet.&ldquo;I need a better helmet so it sets (better) on my head; that&rsquo;s the key when you have a visor,&rdquo; said Handzus, adding the helmet he currently wears &ldquo;is good when you don&rsquo;t have a visor, but it moves around on your head when you have a visor.&rdquo;Handzus said he had been thinking about wearing a visor before Demitra&rsquo;s injury, but the injury, as well as a cut on his left eyebrow, convinced him it was time to act.&ldquo;When I looked in the mirror, I still see where I got it right here,&rdquo; Handzus said, pointing to the cut. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty close. It reminds me all the time.&rdquo;Bartecko wore a visor in the minors, where he said the players and the sticks are more out of control than at the NHL level.MVP&nbsp;Al Maclnnis: Although the Blues boast the defending Hart and Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger, veteran defenseman Al Maclnnis was the Blues&rsquo; MVP in the first half. Maclnnis, 37, is playing as well as he did in preceding Pronger as the Norris Trophy winner. He was fifth in scoring among defensemen with 35 points, one behind Pronger, and he led the NHL with a plus-29.MISSING ELEMENT GM Larry Pleau is on record as saying the Blues are in the market for a right winger who can score some goals and play on the second power play unit, as well as a veteran to provide depth on defense. Despite signing Sean Hill in the off-season, the Blues still don&rsquo;t have a solid No. 3 defenseman.NOTEBOOK Winger Pavol Demitra, out since Dec. 30 with a bruised retina, received medical clearance Jan. 9 to resume light workouts. He can ride the stationary bike and skate by himself, but probably won&rsquo;t return until after the all-star break&hellip;The Blues&rsquo; 6-3 loss to San Jose Jan. 11 was their fourth in six games, their worst stretch of the season.- Dave Luecking &#9632;

f0021-03

Linemates to don visors after Demitra’s injury

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011075/7445945-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="232" height="268"></div>Winning in the NHL is tough enough. Trying to succeed with a team filled with youth is nearly impossible.So with the Lightning stumbling at 12-20-5-2 and the management team seemingly divided on philosophical matters, coach Steve Ludzik was fired Jan. 6 and replaced by associate coach John Tortorella.In explaining Ludzik&rsquo;s dismissal, GM Rick Dudley cited what seemed like a lack of progress in developing the youngest team in the league and Ludzik&rsquo;s preference for a veteran team. Dudley said that Tortorella was hired because of his ability to teach.Ludzik, 31-74-14-9 in his Tampa tenure, said he simply wanted to win as many games as possible. &ldquo;Yom-job is to win,&rdquo; Ludzik said. &ldquo;If you lose, they&rsquo;re going to come at you. I loved the way my guys played for me. Every team we knew we played hard and I hang my hat on that.&rdquo;This is Tortorella&rsquo;s first permanent head coaching job. He mopped up for the Rangers last season after John Muckier was fired and went 0-3-l-0.&rdquo;The circumstances stink,&rdquo; Tortorella said. &ldquo;But I feel very fortunate.&rdquo; Tortorella, 43, was given a contract through 2002-03.MVP&nbsp;Kevin Weekes: Considering the sorry state of Tampa&rsquo;s defense, Kevin Weekes gets the nod. The Lightning had 13 victories after 41 games and Weekes was the difference in many of the wins.MISSING ELEMENT Without a doubt, the Lightning needs a veteran presence in the dressing room. The club is relatively close-knit, but is the youngest team in the NHL and features a 20-year-old captain in Vincent Lecavalier. And with 34-year-old Petr Svoboda out indefinitely (concussion), there is no one with the necessary credibility who can make a fiery speech or get in people&rsquo;s faces.NOTEBOOK Coach John Tortorella united Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards on a forward line. But since both are centers, one has to play wing. In a game against Toronto Jan. 10, Richards played the left side, but it could change from game to game or even shift to shift. Ryan Johnson and Alexander Kharitonov were sharing the assignment on the right side.- Damian Cristodero &#9632;

f0022-01

Tortorella promoted to help tutor kids

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03548/7446007-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="217" height="250"></div>Canucks&rsquo; defenseman Ed Jovanovski suffered a loss worse than anything that could occur on the ice when his wife miscarried one of the twin girls she was carrying.The Jovanovskis were expecting the twin daughters (the other fetus is fine) in late April, but complications arose while Kirstin Jovanovski, a native of Florida, was visiting her parents in Boca Raton during the Christmas holidays. Ed left the team for two games to be with his wife and then, upon his return, scored a dramatic goal in a win over Columbus, gesturing heavenward repeatedly in a display of raw emotion.&ldquo;I just pointed up to the person who didn&rsquo;t make it in my life,&rdquo; Jovanovski said. &ldquo;I talked to my wife after the game and she was touched by the goal. She was the one who wanted me to come back and play.&rdquo;Jovanovski, 24, has been told by management that if he needs to leave the club again, he has their blessing.The Jovanovskis have one daughter, two-year-old Kylie.MVP&nbsp;Markus Naslund: The new captain has fulfilled every expectation by leading the team both on the ice and off it. At the season&rsquo;s midpoint, he had 22 goals and 41 points, which would give him career bests in goals and points if he maintained that pace throughout the second half.MISSING ELEMENT A No. 1 goaltender. GM Brian Burke and coach Marc Crawford placed a lot of faith in Felix Potvin, who has not rewarded them with any kind of consistent netminding. At two games below .500 on an emerging team, he is the club&rsquo;s weakest link. This problem must be addressed before it costs Vancouver a possible playoff spot.NOTEBOOK Center Denis Pederson, who was diagnosed with a bruised hand in December, actually broke a bone in the hand, but it was not discovered until two weeks later when the pain and discomfort persisted. The injury occurred in a fight with Colorado&rsquo;s Greg de Vries.- Elliott Pap &#9632;

f0022-03

Jovanovski family suffers sad loss

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05283/7446038-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04376/7446045-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="214" height="257"></div>It was more of a shuffle than a shakeup, but the Washington Capitals needed to do something.The Caps&rsquo; offense, mediocre much of the season, hit a new low during a 3-0 loss to Minnesota Jan. 10. In that contest, Washington managed just seven snots in the last two periods and five were by defensemen.Coach Ron Wilson had seen enough. Enforcer Craig Berube, a healthy scratch for 17 straight games, was sent to the Islanders for a ninth round draft pick and center Jan Bulis and winger Glen Metropolit were recalled from Portland (AHL).Wilson immediately placed Metropolit on the top line with center Adam Oates and left winger Chris Simon, while Bulis was united with Richard Zednik to see if something could ignite the left winger. Ulf Dahlen is the right winger on that unit.MVP&nbsp;Olaf Kolzig: An easy selection. Koizig&rsquo;s strong, steady play allowed the team to regroup and regain the form it had during the second half last season. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t start out very well,&rdquo; Wilson said, &ldquo;and a lot of that had to do with Olie Kolzig having knee surgery. It&rsquo;s scary to think how good we can be when he&rsquo;s on top of his game and right now, he is.&rdquo;MISSING ELEMENT If no substantial additional scoring can be found, the Caps must find a way to tighten up even more defensively. An excellent place to start would seem to be the penalty killing, which is middle of the pack, but must be well inside the top 10 to make up for goals not scored 5-on-5. Slowing down opposition power plays could well be the Caps&rsquo; key to postseason success.NOTEBOOK Right winger Peter Bondra&rsquo;s point streak was snapped at eight games &mdash; a season-high for the Caps &mdash; when he was held off the scoresheet against Toronto Jan. 6&hellip;Just the second sellout of the year Jan. 8 watched Mario Lemieux perform his usual magic in beating Washington.CAPS OFF TU OLIE Goalie Olaf Kolzig is the main reason why the Caps lead their division.- Dave Fay &#9632;

f0022-05

Caps tinker to find formula on offense

Projected defense pairs and lines, including restricted free agents (**)<h2>Anaheim Mighty Ducks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01971/7446279-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="605" height="512"></div><h2>Carolina Hurricanes</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02645/7446272-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="619" height="480"></div><h2>Detroit Red Wings</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03452/7446265-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="601" height="518"></div><h2>Montreal Canadiens</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04319/7446258-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="621" height="520"></div><h2>Ottawa Senators</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-05240/7446251-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="627" height="470"></div><h2>San Jose Sharks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-06191/7446244-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="623" height="520"></div><h2>Atlanta Thrashers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-07166/7446237-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="603" height="506"></div><h2>Chicago Blackhawks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-08145/7446230-1-eng-US/f0023-082.jpg" title="f0023-08" width="617" height="486"></div><h2>Edmonton Oilers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-09120/7446223-1-eng-US/f0023-092.jpg" title="f0023-09" width="617" height="530"></div><h2>Nashville Predators</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-10108/7446216-1-eng-US/f0023-102.jpg" title="f0023-10" width="607" height="528"></div><h2>Philadelphia Flyers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1192/7446209-1-eng-US/f0023-112.jpg" title="f0023-11" width="607" height="492"></div><h2>Tampa Bay Lightning</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1277/7446202-1-eng-US/f0023-122.jpg" title="f0023-12" width="615" height="516"></div><h2>Boston Bruins</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1365/7446195-1-eng-US/f0023-132.jpg" title="f0023-13" width="607" height="514"></div><h2>Colorado Avalanche</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1457/7446188-1-eng-US/f0023-142.jpg" title="f0023-14" width="613" height="476"></div><h2>Florida Panthers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1546/7446181-1-eng-US/f0023-152.jpg" title="f0023-15" width="597" height="512"></div><h2>New Jersey Devils</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1637/7446174-1-eng-US/f0023-162.jpg" title="f0023-16" width="609" height="516"></div><h2>Phoenix Coyotes</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1727/7446167-1-eng-US/f0023-172.jpg" title="f0023-17" width="609" height="512"></div><h2>Toronto Maple Leafs</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1819/7446160-1-eng-US/f0023-182.jpg" title="f0023-18" width="611" height="474"></div><h2>Buffalo Sabres</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-1915/7446153-1-eng-US/f0023-192.jpg" title="f0023-19" width="611" height="516"></div><h2>Columbus Blue Jackets</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-2011/7446146-1-eng-US/f0023-202.jpg" title="f0023-20" width="627" height="510"></div><h2>Los Angeles Kings</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-219/7446139-1-eng-US/f0023-212.jpg" title="f0023-21" width="609" height="506"></div><h2>New York Islanders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-228/7446132-1-eng-US/f0023-222.jpg" title="f0023-22" width="593" height="514"></div><h2>Pittsburgh Penguins</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-237/7446125-1-eng-US/f0023-232.jpg" title="f0023-23" width="607" height="512"></div><h2>Vancouver Canucks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-246/7446118-1-eng-US/f0023-242.jpg" title="f0023-24" width="593" height="478"></div><h2>Calgary Flames</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-255/7446111-1-eng-US/f0023-252.jpg" title="f0023-25" width="591" height="510"></div><h2>Dallas Stars</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-265/7446104-1-eng-US/f0023-262.jpg" title="f0023-26" width="607" height="508"></div><h2>Minnesota Wild</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-275/7446097-1-eng-US/f0023-272.jpg" title="f0023-27" width="609" height="482"></div><h2>New York Rangers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-285/7446090-1-eng-US/f0023-282.jpg" title="f0023-28" width="601" height="520"></div><h2>St. Louis Blues</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-292/7446083-1-eng-US/f0023-292.jpg" title="f0023-29" width="619" height="516"></div><h2>Washington Capitals</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-302/7446076-1-eng-US/f0023-302.jpg" title="f0023-30" width="613" height="482"></div> &#9632;

f0023-01

NHL DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>There is no award for most improved player in the American League, so Mattieu Descoteaux may just have to settle for all-star honors at the end of the season.Idling in neutral the past two years with the Hamilton Bulldogs, Descoteaux&rsquo;s career has been reborn with the Quebec Citadelles. The fourth-year defenseman leads AHL blueliners in goals with 12 and had 26 points at the all-star break.&ldquo;If you had told me in the summer that I&rsquo;d have 12 goals halfway through the season, I&rsquo;d have said you&rsquo;re nuts,&rdquo; said Descoteaux, whose previous pro high was six.He&rsquo;s not on the ice just to score, though. He and partner Barry Richter log about 30 minutes a game. &ldquo;He plays against the best line,&rdquo; said Quebec coach Eric Lavigne. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a surprise.&rdquo;Descoteaux was expected to be a Building block on the Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; defense when he was selected 19th overall in 1996. But after a solid rookie season with Hamilton in 1997-98, his game stagnated.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011047/7446310-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="263" height="334"><figcaption class="caption-body">M. Descoteaux</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I was going on the ice hoping I wouldn&rsquo;t make a mistake and when you do that, you probably will,&rdquo; Descoteaux said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re too tense, you&rsquo;re squeezing the stick. In this game, you can&rsquo;t be thinking and worrying, you have to react.&rdquo;But the Oilers reacted first, by running out of patience and trading Descoteaux and Christian Laflamme to Montreal for Igor Ulanov and Alain Nasreddine last March.Descoteaux, 23, isn&rsquo;t taking much credit for his improvement. He says Richter, an eighth-year pro with 149 games NHL experience, has been a great influence.&ldquo;I can see him coaching in the future because he gives me tips,&rdquo; Descoteaux said. &ldquo;When we&rsquo;re on the bench, he has me visualizing what will happen. &#9632;

f0024-01

Descoteaux coming of age in Quebec

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><h2>NOTE BOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02722/7446362-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="247" height="260"></div>There&rsquo;s a new &lsquo;Cheesy&rsquo; among goaltenders, but he&rsquo;s not related to Gerry Cheevers.Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rookie Sebastien Caron could end up with the nickname after his nuilgui pallia piumpucvi a mid-game order of nachc and cheese at the Hartford Civic Center.Except he never got to eat them.Serving as the backup to Rich Parent Jan. 6, Caron sent assistant equipment manager Aaron Choman out for nachos during the second period.But while Choman was gone, Parent triggered a brawl when he bashed Wolf Pack left winger Richard Scott several times with his blocker. Parent, who took exception to a slash by Scott, was given a match penalty for attempl to injure.With Parent ejected, Caron &mdash; growling stomach and all &mdash; took to the ice and played the final 31 minutes in a 4-1 victory.&ldquo;By the time Aaron came back, I was not there, I was on the ice,&rdquo; said Caron, who stopped 12 of 13 shots.The nachos didn&rsquo;t go to waste. Parent ate them.SHATTERED DREAMS His right knee still a medical mess, Hartford Wolf Pack right winger Stefan Cherneski retired after playing just 40 American League games in three seasons.Cherneski, drafted 19th overall by the New York Rangers in 1997, sustained what became a career-ending injury in nib iztn pro game. His right kneecap shattered into six pieces when he was checked by Springfield&rsquo;s Scott Ricci Nov. 13,1998.He underwent four operations and still has a screw holding his kneecap in place. There is pain when he skates.&ldquo;This is the hardest decision I&rsquo;ve had to make because playing in the NHL is all I&rsquo;ve ever really wanted to do,&rdquo; said Cherneski, who had one goal and eight points in 28 games this season.His disability settlement is reportedly worth $2 million.THE BITE IS BACK Center Mark Smith regained his scorini touch the moment he returned to the Kentucky Thoroughblades.Smith had six points in his first two games back from San Jose, after managing just one goal and one assist in 16 games with the Sharks.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03485/7446355-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="1327" height="1782"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brad Tiley leads Philadelphia Phantom defensemen with 19 points in 30 games.</figcaption></div><h2>AHL SCOUTING REPORT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04316/7446348-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="331" height="440"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Van Ryn</figcaption></div>VITAL STATISTICSHometown: London, Ont.Age: 21 Size: 6-1,190LAST AMATEUR CLUBSarnia Sting (OHL)POSITION Defense2000-01 SEASONWorcester IceCats<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05213/7446341-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="369" height="76"></div>NHL AFFILIATIONSt. Louis BluesNOTEWORTHYHis bolting the University of Michigan to play with Sarnia, to take advantage of a loophole, will prompt a change in the next collective bargaining agreement. He was picked 26th overall by New Jersey in 1998.BOTTOM LINEA marvelous skater who enjoys the challenge of 1-on-1 battles, he needs to keep his emotions in check and learn how to better utilize his teammates. &#9632;

f0024-02

Hold the jalapenos says ‘Cheesy’ Caron

<div class="byline">By Rob Mueller</div><h2>NOTE BOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06174/7446393-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="227" height="216"></div>Richmond coach Mark Kaufman won&rsquo;t deny the hearty dislike he felt last season for Rod Taylor and Richard Pitirri when they played for the Renegades&rsquo; East Coast League archrival, the Hampton Roads Admirals.&ldquo;We certainly had a lot of competitive hate toward that team and those players, but there also was a healthy respect for what they could do,&rdquo; Kaufman said.With the Admirals on hiatus for a year, Taylor and Pitirri are among a group of five former Hampton Roads&rsquo; players signed by Kaufman last summer and after a slow start, the Renegades are closing in on the top of the ECHL standings and the former enemies are winning over fans.Under contract with the Washington Capitals, the 23-year-old Pitirri is blossoming in his second pro season. After serving primarily as a checker last year, the versatile winger led the Renegades in scoring with 32 points through Jan. 8 and lay lor, alter nine years in an Admirals&rsquo; uniform, broke the ECHL&rsquo;s all-time goal-scoring record Dec. 29 in Richmond&rsquo;s 4-2 home win over the Wheeling Nailers.&ldquo;For Taylor to break that record in our uniform was kind of strange,&rdquo; said Kaufman, whose Renegades were fifth in the league at 20-11-2. &ldquo;He has been a very big addition for us.&rdquo;NO MORE MISSING LYNX The Augusta Lynx hired Brantford, Ont., native Jim Burton as coach Jan. 6 to replace Scott MacPherson, fired Dec. 31, just 33 games into his first season.The 39-year-old Burton, who coached three seasons in the Western Pro League, was slated to coach the expansion Tucson Scorch of the WPHL this season, but the team folded before ever playing a game.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the best coaches I&rsquo;ve ever had,&rdquo; said Lynx winger Dean Tiltgen, who played for Burton in Arkansas in 199899. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d say it&rsquo;s a significant improvement.&rdquo;COAST LINES The Johnstown Chiefs tied a league record with four shorthanded goals in a 9-4 win over Greensboro Jan. 6&hellip;The Florida Everblades traded forward Anthony Terzo to the Mississippi Sea Wolves for future considerations. Terzo began the year with the Roanoke Express before the Everblades acquired him in a trade in early November&hellip;The surging Charlotte Checkers exploded for three goals in the opening 2:58 against thei Pee Dee Pride and won 10-4 Jan. 5. &#9632;

f0024-06

One-time rivals revive thankful Renegades

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>Bubbas on blades may be rare, but first-year Milwaukee Admirals&rsquo; coach Dave Allison is happy to write Andrew &lsquo;Bubba&rsquo; Berenzweig&rsquo;s name on the lineup card.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a Chicago boy, so it doesn&rsquo;t really fit, but it&rsquo;s authentic,&rdquo; said Berenzweig of his nickname, given to him by an uncle from Texas. &ldquo;I was a big baby and I wasn&rsquo;t the brightest two-year-old and did some crazy things.&rdquo;&ldquo;All I know him by is Bubba,&rdquo; said Allison of the 23-year-old defenseman. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure not good with that last name. Heck, I just write Bubba, Nomo (John Namestnikov) and Flip (Jayme Filiopowicz) on the board. It has taken me this long to finally figure out (Denis) Arkhipov.&rdquo;While Allison struggles with the alphabetical challenges of his lineup, his players have struggled to score this season, notching an International League-low 89 goals through 36 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01940/7446424-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="265" height="340"><figcaption class="caption-body">B. Berenzweig</figcaption></div>The good news is that Berenzweig&rsquo;s strong play (he earned a five-game call-up to parent Nashville) was helping Milwaukee keep the puck out of its own net and score some goals, too.He fired the overtime winner against Manitoba Jan. 2. his fourth goal of the year and third game-win ner to go along with 10 assists in 28 games.&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to generate some scoring from defense because there&rsquo;s so much trapping going on now,&rdquo; Allison said, adding, &ldquo;Some nights I&rsquo;d like him up the ice more.&rdquo;Still, the coach is upbeat about Bubba&rsquo;s future, which includes being voted a starter for the IHL All-Star Game Jan. 15. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very receptive to anything we talk about in terms of getting better. He&rsquo;s a guy with his best years ahead of him. He understands why things happen so he won&rsquo;t have to react too early, he&rsquo;ll be able to anticipate.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0025-01

‘Bubba’ gives Admirals blueline boost

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div><h2>NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02612/7446476-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="457" height="198"></div>Utah Grizzlies&rsquo; coach-GM Bob Bourne refused comment when asked if the Florida Panthers had contacted him about filling the coaching vacancy created in late December by the firings of Florida Crivi Bryan Murray and coach Terry Murray.&ldquo;I have nothing to say,&rdquo; Bourne told the Salt Lake Tribune. &ldquo;I won&rsquo;t comment&hellip;I can&rsquo;t at thie timp&rdquo;Florida named scout Duane Sutter to take over the coaching duties, while team president Bill Torrey will handle the GM&rsquo;s responsibilities. Torrey wa GM of the New York Islanders, with whom Bourne spent most of his 14-year NHL career.GRANDMA GAME During a pre season interview, Winnipeg radio broadcaster Kelly Moore jokingly told John Anderson, coach of the defending champion Chicago Wolves, that his grandmother could coach the Wolves&rsquo; talented lineup to 50 wins.But in another interview Jan. 2, with struggling Chicago in last place in the Western Conference at 13-18-2, Anderson got in the first question.&ldquo;Can I have your grandmother&rsquo;s phone number?&rdquo; he asked Moore.WOOZY WOLF Chicago defenseman Tom Tilley, a key cog in last year&rsquo;s Turner Cupwinning lineup, hasn&rsquo;t played since suffering his third concussion in less than a year Nov. 11.The 35-year-old native of Trenton, Ont., has been seeing specialist Dr. James Kelly about his condition and retiremei appears to be a disinct Possibility.DOTTING THE &lsquo;I&rsquo; Chicago goalie Wendell Young said in last week&rsquo;s IHL roundup that he didn&rsquo;t think abuse of netminders and crease violations had run rampant this season, but has now changed his mind. &ldquo;Since I was asked about that, I&rsquo;ve been run over three times and there hasn&rsquo;t been a single penalty,&rdquo; Young said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s ridiculous.&rdquo;&hellip;Utah for wards Ryan Christie and David Ling were suspended for one game by coach-GM Bob Bourne for violating team rules. Bourne wouldn&rsquo;t discuss the details&hellip; Several players were returned to the IHL early in the new year. Chicago received center Jesse Belanger from the Islanders; Cincinnati got center Greg Koehler from Carolina; Grand Rapids received left winger Petr Schastlivy from Ottawa, Milwaukee got left winger Mike Watt from Nashville; and Utah got center Jon Sim from Dallas.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03398/7446469-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="1288" height="1863"><figcaption class="caption-body">Since being assigned to the Kansas City Blades by Vancouver, right winger Steve Kariya has been on a tear. He has eight goals and 26points in 19 games.</figcaption></div><h2>IHL SCOUTING REPORT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04248/7446462-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="331" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dmitri Afanasenkov</figcaption></div>VITAL STATISTICSHometown: Arkhangelsk, RussiaAge: 20 Size: 6-2, 200LAST AMATEUR CLUBSherbrooke (QMJHL)POSITION Left wing2000-01 SEASONDetroit (IHL)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-05176/7446455-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg" title="f0025-05" width="361" height="96"></div>NHL AFFILIATIONTampa Bay LightningNOTEWORTHYAfanasenkov scored 56 goals in 60 games for Sherbrooke in 1999-2000, his second season in the Quebec League.BOTTOM LINEAn impact player because of his moves with the puck, Afanasenkov has discovered that solo efforts aren&rsquo;t enough to be successful in the pros. He must learn to give the puck up to teammates if he&rsquo;s going to progress. &#9632;

f0025-02

Grizz boss mum on NHL Cat calls

For the second straight year Muskegon captain Scott Feasby has sent Port Huron&rsquo;s top player to the sidelines with a serious knee injury. Last season, a knee-on-knee collision with Feasby sidelined Port Huron&rsquo;s Chris Bergeron for 61 games with torn ligaments. This year, in a Dec. 29 game in Port Huron, Feasby knocked center Jeff Loder down and fell on top of him as both tumbled to the ice. Loder, leading Port Huron at the time with 19 goals, also suffered knee ligament damage and is out for the season.- Brendan Savage &#9632;

UNITED LEAGUE

The Central Texas Stampede, one of the Western Pro League&rsquo;s six charter teams, are finished. League officials announced the termination of the franchise Jan. 6. The Stampede become the sixth WPHL team to fold in the last 13 months. Stampede radio color analyst Howard Kinsel said the team had losses of around $750,000. Central Texas&rsquo; attendance had dropped to less than 2,000 a game after averaging more than 4,000 during the league&rsquo;s inaugural season in 1996-97. A dispersal draft for former Stampede players was held Jan. 7.- Dave Henry &#9632;

WESTERN PRO LEAGUE

Tacoma defenseman Scott Drevitch and forward Dampy Brar, the only players selected for both West Coast League All-Star Games, will continue then-streak at the third WCHL classic, to be held Jan. 24 in San Diego where the WCHL team will face off against the Central League&rsquo;s all-stars. Idaho, San Diego, Long Beach, Fresno and Tacoma each contributed three players to the team. The top individual vote-getter was Long Beach forward Kelly Askew. Players were chosen by a vote of the league&rsquo;s coaches and GMs.- Don Ruiz &#9632;

WEST COAST LEAGUE

Needing four goals in his 37th game to tie Paul Jackson&rsquo;s and Trevor Jobe&rsquo;s pro hockey record for the fastest 50 goals, Indianapolis&rsquo; Yves Corbin came up just short, scoring twice in the Ice&rsquo;s 4-1 win over Macon. He had 48 goals in 37 games&hellip;Cory Cyrenne of Memphis scored hat tricks in three consecutive games&hellip;Oklahoma&rsquo;s Doug Sauter and Memphis&rsquo; Doug Shedden earned cocoaching honors for the 2001 CHL all-star team in the second annual All-Star Game against the West Coast League, Jan. 24 in San Diego.- Bob Stratton &#9632;

CENTRAL LEAGUE

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011041/7446603-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="387" height="202"></div>Sault Ste. Marie police will not be laying charges against Sudbury Wolves&rsquo; coach-GM Bert Templeton.Former Wolves&rsquo; defenseman Dennis Wideman alleged Templeton physically abused him on the bench during a game in Sault Ste. Marie Nov. 15. After playing home games Nov. 17 and Nov. 21, Wideman requested a trade. It wasn&rsquo;t until after he left the team and returned home to Elmira, Ont., that the physical abuse claim was made.Templeton released details to the media Dec. 8 &ldquo;to get it out in the open.&rdquo;Wideman was traded to London at the Ontario League&rsquo;s Jan. 10 trade deadline.&ldquo;I had nothing to hide,&rdquo; Templeton said after results of the police investigation were given to his lawyer, Berk Keaney. &ldquo;People have already seen what it was all about.&rdquo; Keaney added Templeton hasn&rsquo;t ruled out legal action of his own.&ldquo;The first Bert heard of the complaint was when Dennis Wideman&rsquo;s agent (Todd Reynolds) used it in the context of demanding a trade,&rdquo; Keaney said. &ldquo;Two more iraue cans were made and physical abuse was raised both times. To me, it&rsquo;s not very hard to connect the dots. This was a total improper use of the criminal justice system. I do not know whether (Wideman) was the victim of bad advice and I know he&rsquo;s only 17, but he should not be throwing around false allegations to get his way.&rdquo;Wideman, traded to London for defenseman Dan Jancevski, 19, and overage forward Chris Kelly, said he wouldn&rsquo;t get into a war of words with his former coach&ldquo;I told the proper authorities what happened.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to start throwing allegations back and forth and play that game&hellip;If they want to sit up there and pick me apart, that&rsquo;s OK.&rdquo;OHL commissioner David Branch said a letter dated Jan. 5 was received from Wideman&rsquo;s lawyer, Bill Kerr, requesting the league look into the claim of physical abuse. Branch said an investigation would be conducted by an independent body.&ldquo;We will assuredly do it,&rdquo; Branch said. &ldquo;I think we have that obligation, if that in fact is the wish of Mr. Kerr and Mr. Wideman.&rdquo;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the family is going to be satisfied that&rsquo;s going to be the end of it with the trade,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;Abuse is more than putting your hand on the back of the neck and shaking someone. It was a culmination of a year-and-a-half of verbal and mental abuse and in the eyes of (Wideman), when (Templeton) grabbed him by the back of the neck, he crossed the line.&rdquo;STING STUNG Sarnia coach Rich Brown became the first OHL coach fired this season Jan. 4. He was replaced by Minnesota Wild scout Jeff Perry. The Sting were six games under .500 and out of a playoff spot.TRAVELLIN&rsquo; MAN The Brampton Battalion acquired goalie Brian Finley and two draft picks from the Barrie Colts for goalie David Chant, defenseman Tyler Hanchuck and center Matt Grennier at the Jan. 10 trading deadline. Finley, 19, who has signed with Nashville, was the playoff MVP as the Colts won the OHL title last season. He has been out a month with a pulled groin which cost him a spot with the Canadian juniors for a third straight year. London traded center Lou Dickenson, 18, to the Kingston Frontenacs for 18-year-old enforcer Sean McMorrow and a second round pick. &#9632;

f0026-01

No charges filed in Templeton abuse case

<div class="byline">By Willy Palov</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02704/7446634-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="383" height="284"></div>The Quebec League&rsquo;s mid-season trade period featured 39 deals, including a flurry of 25 in the last week of the swapping season, which ran from Dec. 15 to Jan. 9.The Moncton Wildcats made the biggest splashes by shipping 20-year-old defenseman Trevor Ettinger to Shawinigan and blueliner Johnny Oduya, 19, and three draft picks to Victoriaville. In return, the Wildcats got three 17-year-old forwards, two 16-year-old defensemen and a first round pick.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re pleased,&rdquo; Said Moncton GM Darrell Young. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re building for the iuture anu we think we got the best players available to help us get to where we want to go in the next couple of years.&rdquo;Meanwhile, the Hull Olympiques got two 16-year-old skaters and a first round pick from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies for high-scoring center Alexandre Giroux, 19, who isn&rsquo;t expected to be back next year after signing a contract with the Ottawa Senators earlier this season.In a deal involving four 19-year-olds, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan sent Simon Lajeunesse, last year&rsquo;s first-team all-star goalie with Moncton, and a fourth round pick to the Val-d&rsquo;Or Foreurs for defenseman Antoine Bergeron, goalie Jean-Francois Laniel and right winger Eric Labelle.&ldquo;We think you win with defense,&rdquo; said Titan GM Pierre Roux. &ldquo;Lajeunesse has more playoff experience than Laniel, but we get one of the best defensemen in the whole league.&rdquo;Some GMs think all the player movement is getting out of hand.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s so much of it now that I&rsquo;m not sure it&rsquo;s good for the stability of the league,&rdquo; said Hull&rsquo;s Charles Henry, a veteran GM who makes a few moves each year, but has a reputation for building through the draft.&ldquo;You see one team first overall one year and then at the bottom the year after. The price teams are paying to win is higher than I&rsquo;ve ever seen it.&rdquo;FIGHT NIGHT QMJHL disciplinarian Maurice Filion suspended six players a total of 42 games following a pre-game brawl between the Halifax Mooseheads and the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Dec. 30.The stiffest penalty went to Cape Breton&rsquo;s Hunter Lahache, who got 10 games, while teammates Ryan Flinn got seven and George Davis five.Halifax&rsquo;s Nick Greenough got eight games, Jules-Edy Laraque will miss seven and Jonathan Boone will be gone for five.&ldquo;One thing that I can&rsquo;t stand is a fight during a warmup,&rdquo; Filion said. &ldquo;(Players) know that if they fight during the warmup,&ldquo;The rule is that as soon as the buzzer sounds, they have to get off the ice. But they didn&rsquo;t. They just stood there looking at each other like they were putting on a show or something. It&rsquo;s crazy&rdquo;HALL CALL League president Gilles Courteau announced that three players and one coach will be inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame on March 15.Michel Bergeron will be honored for his six stellar years behind the Trois-Rivieres&rsquo; bench. Dale Hawerchuk (Cornwall Royals), Guy Carbonneau (Chicoutimi Sagueneens) and Guy Rouleau (Longueuil Chevaliers and Hull Olympiques) will go in as players.<h2>Dogs without bite</h2>Will the Mississauga IceDogs live in infamy?Just when it appeared they would get their fourth win of the season &mdash; and ensure the Canadian Hockey League futility mark for fewest wins would remain property of the 1995-96 London Knights (3-60-3) and 1977-78 Shawinigan Dynamos (3-65-4) &mdash; the IceDogs found another way to lose.After taking a 3-0 lead into the third period against Peterborough Jan. 5 at the Hershey Centre, the IceDogs lost 4-3 in overtime.The defense rested as the Petes scored all three third period goals on rebounds while outshooting the IceDogs 15-1. Eric Staal scored 38 seconds into overtime to complete Peterborough&rsquo;s comeback.The 3-28-6-1 IceDogs had broken a 27-game winless streak (0-23-4-0) by blanking the Toronto St. Michael&rsquo;s Majors 3-0 Jan. 3 when Rob Garrick made 25 saves for the Dogs&rsquo; shutout.- Jim Cressman &#9632;

f0026-02

“Let’s make a deal’ Quebec League’s cry

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03559/7446665-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="382" height="268"></div>Don&rsquo;t call the 2001 Memorial Cup hosts the Regina Stand-Pats.Regina GM Brent Parker made some bold moves to upgrade a mediocre team as the Western League&rsquo;s Jan. 15 trading deadline loomed.&ldquo;We made a commitment to do everything we could (to ice a contending team),&rdquo; Parker said. &ldquo;We feel we&rsquo;ve held up our end of the bargain.&rdquo;Parker led off by engineering a six-player blockbuster with the Kamloops Blazers, who surrendered defenseman Paul Elliott, 20, plus left wingers Gable Gross, 19, and Kyle Ladobruk, 17.Elliott, with 43 points in 40 games, is the WHL&rsquo;s second-highest scoring rear-guard. Gross, who captained the Blazers, had 20 goals in 40 gamesRegina relinquished center Paul Brown, 16, left winger Ryan Annesley, 18, defenseman Shon Jones-Parry, 20, and future considerations. Parker had touted Brown as a potential &ldquo;franchise player.&rdquo;&ldquo;We&rsquo;re ecstatic to get him,&rdquo; said Kamloops GM Mike Moore. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the key to the deal for us.&rdquo;Regina also acquired the rights to right winger Scott Hartnell, 18, from the Prince Albert Raiders for futures. The Pats hope Hartnell will be returned to the WHL by the Nashville Predators.&ldquo;That might be wishful thinking,&rdquo; said Predators&rsquo; coach Barry Trotz.If Hartnell is returned to junior, Prince Albert will receive an assortment of high bantam draft picks from Regina.&ldquo;It probably is a longshot,&rdquo; acknowledged Parker, whose team had a 20-21-1-2 record at the time of the deals.Parker completed his trading frenzy by acquiring center Blake Evans, 20, and defenseman Jeff Feniak, 19, from the Tri-City Americans for right winger Joey Bastien, 20, defenseman Justin Lucyshyn, 17, and highly regarded blueliner Shawn Belle, 15.Evans had 28 goals in 40 games at the time of the deal.ROCKET POWER The Kelowna Rockets are maxing amends for back-to-back 25-win seasons.After 43 games, Kelowna led the West Division with a 21-12-6-4 record. An 11-game unbeaten streak propelled the Rockets into first place.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not getting too excited about it,&rdquo; said Rockets&rsquo; coach Marc Habscheid. &ldquo;Our division is so close that you can go from first to last in a hurry.&rdquo;A FINE LINE The Kootenay Ice began 2001 without its top line.Left winger Jarret Stoll and right winger Zdenek Blatny were at the World Junior Championship, playing for Canada and the Czech Republic, respectively. And 20-year-old center Mike Comrie signed with &mdash; and joined &mdash; the Edmonton Oilers Dec. 30. Comrie had 39 goals and 79 points in 36 games with Kootenay.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be different (without Comrie), but we&rsquo;re still good up front,&rdquo; Stoll said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of good offensive guys and some guys are going to have to step it up, myself included.&rdquo;After the Christmas break, Kootenay added defenseman Craig Weller, 19, who left the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Weller was a fifth round pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2000. &#9632;

f0026-03

Pats prepare for Cup with big, bold trades

<div class="byline">Jim Cressman</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01989/7446724-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"></div>The stars are guaranteed to shine over Guelph on Wednesday, Jan. 24. The Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League have made sure of that.It&rsquo;s a star-studded lineup of players who will take to the ice that night at the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre for the 2001 Canadian Hockey League All-Star Cup.The OHL Western Conference all-star team features five members of Canada&rsquo;s bronze-medal national junior team &mdash; Brad Boyes of the Erie Otters, Jason Spezza and Steve Ott of the Windsor Spitfires, and Raffi Torres and Jay Harrison of the Brampton Battalion.The WHL Eastern Conference all-star team features four players who were with the Canadian juniors &mdash; Barrett Jackman of the Regina Pats, Nick Schultz of the Prince Albert Raiders, Jay Bouwmeester of the Medicine Hat Tigers and Jarret Stoll of the Kootenay Ice.The OHL team also includes Brampton&rsquo;s Rostislav Klesla, who was with the gold-medal Czech Republic at the world junior championship.Three of Klesla&rsquo;s Czech Republic teammates are on the WHL team &mdash; Pavel Brendl of the Calgary Hitmen, Zdenek Blatny of Kootenay and Martin Erat, recently acquired by the Red Deer Rebels in a trade from the Saskatoon Blades.&ldquo;I look at that Western Hockey League lineup and I see some pretty big names,&rdquo; said OHL coach Peter DeBoer of the Plymouth Whalers. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to this game. Our fans in Ontario are going to get to see some great players from out west.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02637/7446717-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="818" height="820"></div>DeBoer&rsquo;s counterpart, Brent Sutter of Red Deer, is in favor of the new all-star concept. He said everyone will come out a winner.&ldquo;You look at both rosters and there is a high level of skill and talent that will make for an outstanding game,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;I think this new format has put some interest back in these All-Star Games.&ldquo;Last year was my first year back in a junior All-Star Game and the intensity wasn&rsquo;t very good. This league versus league format can certainly change some aspects of the game.There&rsquo;s a purpose to be playing in it now. It&rsquo;s not just a great social event. There&rsquo;s pride.&rdquo;NHL scouts will take an interest in this game. Spezza and OHL teammate Stephen Weiss of Plymouth will be two of the top players chosen in this year&rsquo;s entry draft.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03425/7446710-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="816" height="821"></div>&ldquo;The game will certainly be worth the price of admission, no doubt about it,&rdquo; DeBoer said. &ldquo;The last time I was involved in an All-Star Game was 1995 in Kitchener when I was an assistant coach with the OHL team against a combined WHL-Quebec League team. We got beat 8-3.&ldquo;When our management team of Dave Mayville (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) and Ray McKelvie (Owen Sound Attack) was selecting our guys, I told them I don&rsquo;t want to stand back there and get thumped by five or six goals again.&rdquo;DeBoer said there will be a lot of pride at stake for the OHL team because the game is in Ontario.&ldquo;There are some major bragging rights here. This is not a trip to just another All-Star Game. A lot of competitive juices are going to be flowing that night,&rdquo; DeBoer said. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;m really looking forward to coaching a few of the players I&rsquo;ve been coaching against the last four years.&ldquo;You appreciate these guys from the opposite side of the rink when you play against them and it will be nice to have them on your team for a change.&rdquo;When Sutter goes down the list of players on his WHL roster, he says it invokes an &ldquo;oh my.&rdquo;&ldquo;There&rsquo;s quite a bit of talent there. It&rsquo;s amazing to have that much talent on one team. I know I would hate to see all them coming into my arena.&rdquo;<h2>OHL WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STAR TEAM ROSTER</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04290/7446703-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="1281" height="1094"></div><h2>WHL EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STAR TEAM ROSTER</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05191/7446696-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="1205" height="1048"></div> &#9632;

f0027-01

All-Star Cup

<div class="byline">By Paul Harris</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011026/7446755-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="387" height="228"></div>Ohio State received a devastating blow when senior defenseman Andre Signoretti was ruled academically ineligible for the rest of the season.The decision was made when the school released first-semester marks. Signoretti didn&rsquo;t make the grade.Many felt Signoretti, the Buckeyes&rsquo; captain, has been the best defenseman in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association this season. He had three goals and 13 points in 16 games and led defensemen with a plus-13 rating.It&rsquo;s a particularly hard blow for Ohio State to absorb because the team is dominated by freshmen and sophomores.It&rsquo;s unfortunate,&rdquo; said Ohio State coach John Markell. &ldquo;You think a 24-year-old senior, in his final year, would take care of business. Hopefully, he can learn from this.&rdquo;Signoretti appealed the suspension and it was scheduled to be heard in early January.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s always a chance, but I don&rsquo;t know his situation,&rdquo; Markell said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a tough road for him.&rdquo;After losing Signoretti, the Buckeyes lost their next four games, including a weekend series to Western Michigan Jan. 5-6.Ohio State (7-6-1) was also without freshmen centers David Steckel and R.J. Umberger, who were with Team USA at the World Junior Championship in Russia.PROSPECT WATCH With all the great numbers Michigan State sophomore goalie Ryan Miller has put up in his season-and-a-half as a Spartan, his latest may be the most impressive.Miller, the 138th selection of the Buffalo Sabres in 1999, recorded the 12th shutout of his college career in a 4-0 victory over Yale Jan. 6. That ties him with Chad Alban for the Michigan State record.Miller&rsquo;s shutout lowered his goals-against average to 1.36 this season and raised his save percentage to .949.SPOTLIGHT Western Michigan (9-2-2) moved up to fifth in U.S. college hockey polls with five straight wins.Two came over Colgate and Merrimack as the Broncos won the Silverado Shootout. Western Michigan also swept Ohio State in early January. The Broncos were one point behind No. 1-ranked Michigan State in the CCHA standings.NOTEBOOK Michigan State won its fourth straight Great Lakes Invitational Tournament title with a 3-2 win over Michigan Tech in the final Dec. 30. Spartan goaltender Ryan Miller was named tournament MVP&hellip;The Spartans upped their unbeaten streak to 18 games (15-0-3) after beating Yale twice Jan. 5-6. &#9632;

f0028-01

Buckeye captain knocked off team by poor grades

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02693/7446786-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="382" height="223"></div>The Massachusetts-LoWell River Hawks are red-hot in the middle of winter.Hockey East observers watched the Hawks climb out of the cellar thanks to a four-game league unbeaten streak in early January. After beating Union 5-3. Jan 9, UMass-Lowell was 7-2-2 in their previous 11 games.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been getting better goaltending (from Jimi St. John and Cam McCormick) and we&rsquo;ve played more consistent team defense.&rdquo; said coach Tim Whitehead. &ldquo;The nice thing is we started this before the break and have continued it after the break.&rdquo;The River Hawks allowed just five goals during the four-game streak. Previously, they allowed 33 goals in their first nine games.More impressive is the fact UMass-Lowell was 3-1-0 without defenseman Ron Hainsey, the 2000 first round draft pick (13th overall) of Montreal, who was in Russia with Team USA at the World Junior Championship. Also missing was right winger Yorick Treille, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer. The Chicago draft pick has been sidelined with a concussion.&ldquo;That has given our team confidence,&rdquo; said Whitehead, whose club climbed from last place in the nine-team conference into a tie for sixth.ANALYSIS New Hampshire goalie Ty Conklin was a Hobey Baker Award finalist last season and his statistics are even better this year.Conklin had a 2.06 goals-against average and .919 save percentage to go with a 10-4-4 record through 18 games.A year ago. he had a 2.49 GAA, .908 save percentage ana recora of 22-8-6.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best goaltender I&rsquo;ve ever seen,&rdquo; said Maine sophomore center Martin Kariya, after Conklin stonned 63 of 64 shots in New Hampshire&rsquo;s 0-0 overtime tie and 41 win over the Black Bears Jan. 5-6.&ldquo;He has great anticipation,&rdquo; Kariya said. &ldquo;He knows what you&rsquo;re going to do with the puck. And he has great reflexes. He&rsquo;s going to be a great NHL goalie.&rdquo;Conklin, a senior, is a free agent.SPOTLIGHT Providence sophomore center-turned-winger Devin Rask has been on a tear with three or more points in four of six games. The 5-foot-9,175-pound Rask, who is a free agent, was the league&rsquo;s third-leading scorer with 12 goals and 27 points in 18 games.NOTEBOOK Boston University center Carl Corazzini was Hockey East player of the month for December. Northeastern&rsquo;s Mike Gilhooly was goalie of the month and Maine defenseman Francis Nault rookie of the month. &#9632;

f0028-02

Lowly River Hawks taking flight despite absence of two big birds

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03495/7446817-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="378" height="223"></div>In a season dominated by goalies, Harvard senior Oliver Jonas has been overlooked. But the native of Munich is used to playing second fiddle.For three years, Jonas played behind J.R. Prestifilippo, waiting for his opportunitv to be Harvard&rsquo;s No. 1 netminder. And now that his chance has come, he&rsquo;s making the best of it.With Jonas between the pipes, the Crimson swept Union and RPI to improve to 7-3-1 in Eastern College Athletic Conference play and solidify their hold on first place.Jonas had a 2.72 goals-against average and .924 save percentage after 15 games.&ldquo;Oliver patiently waited for his opportunity for three years,&rdquo; said Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni. &ldquo;What people neglect to see is he had a winning record when the program didn&rsquo;t. He had already proven he could play and when he got the opportunity, he ran with it.&rdquo;Jonas, who had experience with German national teams before coming to Harvard, began the year with a 12-100 career record and 3.55 goals-against average. His European-style of play can sometimes be nerve-wracking.&ldquo;He plays a Dominik Hasek-type style and sometimes he&rsquo;s down (on the ice) more than people would like,&rdquo; Mazzoleni said. &ldquo;Instead of controlling rebounds, sometimes, he kicks the puck out with his pads or pushes the puck past people with his blocker. But his out-of-net play has been exceptional.&rdquo;Although freshman Will Crothers is the goalie of the future, Harvard&rsquo;s fate this vear rides with Jonas.ANALYSIS One reason for Harvard&rsquo;s success is its outstanding penalty killing.Through 16 games, the Crimson killed off 80 of 88 power plays (91 per cent). In addition, Harvard scored six shorthanded goals. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re attacking more on the penalty kill,&rdquo; Mazzoleni said. &ldquo;Anyone who plays against you has to prepare for that and sometimes they&rsquo;re not as aggressive because we&rsquo;re trying to jump to offense.&rdquo;NEWS UPDATE Yale senior center Jeff Hamilton has moved into fifth place on the Bulldogs&rsquo; career scoring list with 140 points (64 goals, 76 assists).NOTEBOOK A fluke accident put Cornell freshman forward Greg Hornby out for the season.During a game against Ohio State in the Everglades College Classic over the holiday break, the blade of an Ohio State player&rsquo;s stick got caught in Hornby&rsquo;s skate, sending him into the boards shoulder-first. As a result of the awkward fall, Hornby dislocated his shoulder and broke his arm. &#9632;

f0028-03

German goalie making up for lost time after three years as Harvard backup

<div class="byline">By Andy Baggot</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04336/7446848-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="384" height="222"></div>North Dakota coach Dean Blais made a touching tribute earlier this season to Shawn Walsh, the Maine coach who is battling cancer.When the teams met in a non-conference series Oct. 13-14, Blais had his players&rsquo; Fighting Sioux sweaters emblazoned with the name &lsquo;Walsh&rsquo; on the back. The garments were later donated for a raffle to benefit Walsh and his family.The gesture by Blais became more poignant Dec. 28 when the youngest of his three children, 16-year-old Mary Beth, was diagnosed with Burkitt&rsquo;s disease, a rare form of cancer that predominantly affects young people.Blais didn&rsquo;t learn of his daughter&rsquo;s illness until after he travelled with his team to Milwaukee for the Badger Showdown tournament.&ldquo;The symptoms looked like mononucleosis,&rdquo; Blais said.After finding out Mary Beth had been transferred from a hospital in Grand Forks, N.D., to St. Mary&rsquo;s Hospital in Rochester, Minn., Blais promptly rented a car and joined his family in Rochester.First-year assistant Dave Hakstol coached the team in the tournament, where the NCAA-champion Sioux followed up a 4-3 loss to Boston University with a 5-4 win over Princeton.Following the tournament, Hakstol, a former North Dakota defenseman, was elevated to associate head coach, putting him in charge in the event Blais has to leave the team again. Mary Beth was to undergo chemotherapy treatments in Rochester.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re dealing with things as a family,&rdquo; Hakstol said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s probably the best thing for them right now.&rdquo;PROSPECT WATCH Minnesota center Erik Westrum continues to produce in a variety of ways with an eye toward his second 50-point season.In 21 games, the senior had a teambest 14 goals and led the Gophers with 31 points. Westrum was selected 187th overall by Phoenix in 1998.SPOTLIGHT Of the 50 Western Collegiate Hockey Association graduates on NHL rosters as of Jan. 4, 36 came out of three programs. North Dakota led the way with 13, followed by Wisconsin (12) and Minnesota (11).St. Cloud State was next (four), then Denver and Michigan Tech (three each) and Minnesota-Duluth and Colorado College (two each).NOTEBOOK After missing 10 games with a broken vertebrae in his neck, Colorado College center Mark Cullen made an emphatic return Jan. 5-6 when the Tigers swept Denver. He had five assists, including setting up both winning goals, in 5-1 and 4-1 victories&hellip; Since a 5-3-1 start, Alaska-Anchorage has lost a school-record nine straight. &#9632;

f0028-04

Cancer in family shifts priorities for Sioux coach

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0029-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01908/7446991-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg"></div><h2>2000-01 STANDINGS</h2>NHL Standings through games of Jan11 (82-game regular season). GP-games played; W-wins; L-losses; T-ties; RT-regualtion ties; GF-goals for; GA-goals against; Diff.-difference between goals for and against; P- points; Pct.- percentage of actual points versus possible points.<h2>DIVISIONAL STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02589/7446984-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="1385" height="556"></div><h2>OVERALL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-07155/7446977-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="492" height="815"></div><h2>RESULTS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-08133/7446970-1-eng-US/f0029-082.jpg" title="f0029-08" width="485" height="1372"></div><h2>GOALS-AGAINST AVE.</h2>GP-games played; Min.-total minutes; GA-goals against; SO-shutouts; GAA-goals-against average; League average is average GAA of all goalies who have played a minimum of 720 minutes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-09122/7446963-1-eng-US/f0029-092.jpg" title="f0029-09" width="607" height="990"></div><h2>SAVE PERCENTAGE</h2>GP-games played; Min.-total minutes; SA-shots faced; GA goals against; SP-save percentage; League average is average save percentage of all goalies who have played a minimum of 720 minutes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-10112/7446956-1-eng-US/f0029-102.jpg" title="f0029-10" width="607" height="1000"></div><h2>TOP SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-11103/7446949-1-eng-US/f0029-112.jpg" title="f0029-11" width="595" height="547"></div><h2>TOP DEFENSEMEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1291/7446942-1-eng-US/f0029-122.jpg" title="f0029-12" width="589" height="295"></div><h2>TOP ROOKIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1375/7446935-1-eng-US/f0029-132.jpg" title="f0029-13" width="587" height="295"></div><h2>ATTENDANCE</h2>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<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1467/7446928-1-eng-US/f0029-142.jpg" title="f0029-14" width="589" height="802"></div><h2>TEAM PENALTIES</h2>PIM-lotal penalty minutes including BMI-bench penalty minutes; Avg.-averwe penalty minutes per game.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1560/7446921-1-eng-US/f0029-152.jpg" title="f0029-15" width="1010" height="460"></div><h2>PENALTY KILLING</h2>TSH-total times shorthanded; PGA-power-play goals allowed; Pct.-penalty-killing percentage<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1657/7446914-1-eng-US/f0029-162.jpg" title="f0029-16" width="1015" height="458"></div><h2>POWER PLAY</h2>Adv-total advantages; PPG-power-play goals; Pct-power-play goals divided by total advantages<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1752/7446907-1-eng-US/f0029-172.jpg" title="f0029-17" width="1031" height="456"></div><h2>THN THREE STARS OF THE WEEK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03389/7446900-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="254" height="324"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marty Turco</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04268/7446893-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="80" height="78"></div>Philadelphia&rsquo;s hulking center Keith Primeau scored five goals in the week of Jan. 5-Jan. 11, including an 0T winner versus St. Louis on Jan. 8 for the 2-0-1 Flyers.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05225/7446886-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="80" height="77"></div>Scott Stevens registered just one assist for the Devils, but was his usual solid self on the blue-line, earning a plus-6 rating and helping the Devils maintain their 10-game unbeaten streak.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-06186/7446879-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="78" height="73"></div>Stars&rsquo; rookie backup Marty Turco, filling in for an AWOL Ed Belfour, went 3-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA, earned one shutout and stopped 101 of 104 shots for a league-leading .971 save percentageFor daily news and stats visit www.thehockeynews.com &#9632;</div>

f0029-01

HOCKEY’S BEST STATS

2000-01 NHL STATISTICS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011026/7447267-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"></div><h2>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS</h2>Statistics provided by National Hockey League: PLAYER-listed by uniform number position (F-forward; D-defenseman; G-goahe), name; GP-games played; G- goals t-assists; P-points; +/- -plus/minus; PIM-penalties; PP-power-play goals SH-short-handed goals; GW-game-winning goals; GT-game-tying goals; S-shots SP-shooting percentage; H-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; GV- giveaways. A give sway is when a player&rsquo;s own actions result in the loss of possession to the other team TK- takeaways. A takeaway occurs when pressure by a defending player results in gaining possession of the puck: MIN- average minutes played per game is express in minutes and seconds. Players indicated by an asterisk (*) are eligible for the Calde Trophy.<h2>ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS</h2><h2>ATLANTA TRASHERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02684/7447260-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="1000" height="734"></div><h2>BOSTON BRUINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03475/7447253-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="1023" height="862"></div><h2>BUFFALO SABRES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04326/7447246-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="1010" height="321"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05240/7447239-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="1021" height="372"></div><h2>CALGARY FLAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06193/7447232-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="1013" height="785"></div><h2>CAROLINA HURRICANES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-07164/7447225-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="1016" height="662"></div><h2>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-08144/7447218-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="1016" height="687"></div><h2>COLORADO AVALANCHE</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-09127/7447211-1-eng-US/f0030-092.jpg" title="f0030-09" width="1003" height="677"></div><h2>COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-10113/7447204-1-eng-US/f0030-102.jpg" title="f0030-10" width="1013" height="691"></div><h2>DALLAS STARS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-11104/7447197-1-eng-US/f0030-112.jpg" title="f0030-11" width="1018" height="667"></div><h2>DETROIT RED WINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1298/7447190-1-eng-US/f0030-122.jpg" title="f0030-12" width="1009" height="717"></div><h2>EDMONTON OILERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1389/7447183-1-eng-US/f0030-132.jpg" title="f0030-13" width="1013" height="661"></div><h2>FLORIDA PANTHERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1483/7447176-1-eng-US/f0030-142.jpg" title="f0030-14" width="1016" height="382"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01943/7447169-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="1025" height="424"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES KINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02611/7447162-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="1014" height="707"></div><h2>MINNESOTA WILD</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03445/7447155-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="1007" height="646"></div><h2>MONTREAL CANADIENS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04327/7447148-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="1019" height="920"></div><h2>NASHVILLE PREDATORS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05258/7447141-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="1010" height="634"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06212/7447134-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="1010" height="623"></div><h2>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-07186/7447127-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="1016" height="834"></div><h2>NEW YORK RANGERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-08158/7447120-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="1009" height="511"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-09137/7447113-1-eng-US/f0031-092.jpg" title="f0031-09" width="1025" height="281"></div><h2>OTTAWA SENATORS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-10118/7447106-1-eng-US/f0031-102.jpg" title="f0031-10" width="1027" height="637"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1197/7447099-1-eng-US/f0031-112.jpg" title="f0031-11" width="1027" height="677"></div><h2>PHOENIX COYOTES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1271/7447092-1-eng-US/f0031-122.jpg" title="f0031-12" width="1018" height="661"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1358/7447085-1-eng-US/f0031-132.jpg" title="f0031-13" width="1019" height="378"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011006/7447078-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="1015" height="336"></div><h2>SAN JOSE SHARKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02679/7447071-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="1019" height="690"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03478/7447064-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="1011" height="768"></div><h2>TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04328/7447057-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="1015" height="766"></div><h2>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05247/7447050-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="1015" height="614"></div><h2>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-06206/7447043-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="1017" height="640"></div><h2>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-07174/7447036-1-eng-US/f0032-072.jpg" title="f0032-07" width="1005" height="690"></div><h2>NHL SCHEDULE</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-08152/7447029-1-eng-US/f0032-082.jpg" title="f0032-08" width="1023" height="1932"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-09125/7447022-1-eng-US/f0032-092.jpg" title="f0032-09" width="1017" height="3534"></div> &#9632;

f0030-01

2000 - 01 NHL STATISTICS

<h2>NOTE</h2>Unofficial game summaries provided by National Hockey League; (shots on goal/plus-minus); SA-shots against: GA- goals against; ENG-empty net goals; decision, charges to goaltenders of record when winning goal is scored.<h2>FRIDAY, JAN. 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05295/7447539-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="507" height="1926"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06256/7447532-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="497" height="2292"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07232/7447525-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="507" height="2300"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-08192/7447518-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="503" height="1554"></div><h2>SATURDAY, JAN. 6</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-09165/7447511-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="513" height="658"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-10144/7447504-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="515" height="2292"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-11131/7447497-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="491" height="2308"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011028/7447490-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="509" height="3500"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02698/7447483-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="513" height="3506"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03544/7447476-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="505" height="1578"></div><h2>SUNDAY, JAN. 7</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04421/7447469-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="507" height="1880"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05340/7447462-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="503" height="2734"></div><h2>MONDAY, JAN. 8</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06301/7447455-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="503" height="708"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-07275/7447448-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="499" height="3506"></div><h2>TUESDAY, JAN. 9</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-08251/7447441-1-eng-US/f0034-082.jpg" title="f0034-08" width="499" height="3428"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01967/7447434-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="523" height="2850"></div><h2>WEDNESDAY, JAN. 10</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02676/7447427-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="510" height="599"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03550/7447420-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="517" height="3525"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04435/7447413-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="504" height="3512"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05365/7447406-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="503" height="2450"></div><h2>THURSDAY, JAN. 11</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06331/7447399-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="499" height="1005"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07306/7447392-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="499" height="2236"></div><h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08274/7447385-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="509" height="1210"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-09248/7447378-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="523" height="3530"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01928/7447371-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="535" height="2274"></div><h2>THE WEEK THAT WAS</h2>A weekly compendium of significant events and developments (Jan. 5-12).Jan. 5 The Czech Republic wins gold at the World Junior Championships by beating Finland 2-1. Canada takes bronze with a 2-1 OT win over Sweden.It&rsquo;s revealed that Ottawa assistant coach Roger Neilson has a second kind of cancer, malignant melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer.The German League&rsquo;s Munich Barons turn down suspended NHLer Marty McSorley&rsquo;s request for a contract that lets him return to the NHL when his suspension expires Feb. 21.Montreal beats Pittsburgh 4-3, the Penguins&rsquo; first loss since Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s comeback Dec. 27.Jan. 6 The Tampa Bay Lightning fire coach Steve Ludzik and name assistant John Tortorella as new coach.After a dispute with Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock at the team&rsquo;s morning skate, Stars&rsquo; goalie Ed Belfour leaves the team and flies back to Dallas.The expansion Minnesota Wild&rsquo;s eight-game unbeated streak is snapped by a 5-1 loss to St. Louis, thwarting Minnesota&rsquo;s bid to tie the NHL record for longest unbeaten streak by an expansion team, set by the 1993-94 Florida Panthers.Jan. 8 Rob Ray meets with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to appeal his 10-game suspension for abuse of an official.The NHL announces Ottawa coach Jacques Martin will be head coach of the World Team at this season&rsquo;s All-Star Game in Denver Feb. 4 and St. Louis boss Joel Quenneville will lead the North American Team. New Jersey&rsquo;s Larry Robinson earns the spot as Martin&rsquo;s assistant while Colorado&rsquo;s Bob Hartley will help Quenneville.After reports out of New York suggest Toronto is on the verge of pulling out of the Eric Lindros sweepstakes, Maple Leafs coach-GM Pat Quinn announces his team remains interested in the Flyers&rsquo; restricted free agent.New York Islander Mark Parrish apologizes to fans for saying they should &ldquo;stay home&rdquo; if they are going to boo the team.&rsquo;Jan. 9 Dallas lifts Ed Belfour&rsquo;s suspension after the goalie apologizes to coach Ken Hitchcock, GM Bob Gainey and his teammates for leaving the team following a dispute with HitchcockJan. 10 The NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Service ranks Canadian Centre Jason Spezza as the top North American junior prospect and Russian left winger Ilya Kovalchuk as the top European prospect.Detroit coach Scotty Bowman, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Nashville GM David Poile are named recipients of the Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.Canadian Hockey Association president Bob Nicholson says during an online forum that he thinks major junior hockey should be entirely made up of North American-born players.Jan. 11 Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; owner Ed Snider goes on Toronto radios to announce he has instructed Flyers&rsquo; GM Bob Clarke to cease negotiations with the Toronto Maple Leafs regarding a trade for restricted free agent Eric Lindros.After he appealed to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, the NHL reduces Buffalo forward Rob Ray&rsquo;s suspension for abuse of an official from 10 to seven games.<h2>CENTRAL SCOUTING</h2>Listed below is the mid-season ranking of North American and European players eligible for the 2001 NHL entry draft by the Central Scouting Service. Listed is player name, position, team and league.Round One1. Jason Spezza, C, Windsor (OHL); 2. Stephen Weiss, C. Plymouth (OHL); 3. Dan Hamhuis, D, Prince George (WHL); 4. R.J. Umberger, C, Ohio State (CCHA); 5. Duncan Milroy, RW, Swift Current (WHL); 6. Ryan Whitney, D, US National U-18; 7. Jay Harrison, D. Brampton (OHL); 8. Mark Popovic, D, St. Michael&rsquo;s (OHL); 9. Mike Komisarek, D, Michigan (CCHA); 10. Tim Gleason, D, Windsor (OHL); 11. Ales Hemsky, RW, Hull (QMJHL); 12. Carlo Colaiacovo, D, Erie (OHL); 13. Chris Thorburn, C, North Bay (OHL); 14. Greg Watson, C, Prince Albert (WHL); 15. Colby Armstrong, RW, Red Deer (WHL); 16. Lukas Krajicek, D, Peterborough (OHL); 17. Jeff Woywitka, D, Red Deer (WHL); 18. Drew Fata, D, St. Michael&rsquo;s (OHL); 19. Brendan Bell, D, Ottawa (OHL); 20. Jay McClement, C. Brampton (OHL); 21. Rob Globke, RW, Notre Dame (CCAA); 22. Jiri Jakes, LW, Brandon (WHL); 23. Tim Jackman, RW, Mankato State (WCHA); 24. Martin Podlesak, C, Tri-City (WHL); 25. David Steckel, C, Ohio State (CCHA); 26. Darren McLachlan, LW, Seattle, (WHL); 27. Colt King, LW, Guelph (OHL); 28. Nathan Paetsch, D, Moose Jaw (WHL); 29. Aaron Johnson, D, Rimouski (QMJHL).Round Two31. Derek Roy, C, Kitchener (OHL); 32. Erjc Nystrom, LW, US National U-18; 33. Chuck Kobasew, RW. Boston College (HE); 34. Tomas Mojzis, D, Moose Jaw (WHL); 35. Barry Tallackson, RW, US National U-18, 36. Kiel McLeod, C, Kelowna (WHL); 37. Tomas Malec, D, Rimouski (QMJHL); 38. Doug Lynch, D, Red Deer (WHL); 39. Edward Caron, C, Phillips Exeter; 40. Matthew Spiller, D, Seattle (WHL); 41. Mike Cammalleri, C, Michigan CCHA); 42. Garth Murray, C, Regina (WHL); 43. Colin Stuart, C, Colorado College (WCHA); 44. Scott Horvath, RW, Mass.-Amherst (HE); 45. Jason Pominville, RW, Shawinigan (QMJHL); 46. Paul Lynch, D, Valley Jr.; 47. Jeff Lucky, RW, Spokane (WHL); 48. Pierre-Luc Emond, C, Drummondville (QMJHL); 49. Shawn Collymore, RW, Quebec (QMJHL); 50. Aaron Lobb, RW, London (OHL); 51. John Snowden. C, Lincoln (USHL); 52. Brent MacLellan, D, Rimouski (QMJHL); 53. Brian McConnell, C, US Natioral U-18; 54. Keith Ballard, D, Omaha, (USHL); 55. Grant McNeil, D, Prince Albert (WHL); 56. Patrick Sharp, C, Vermont (ECHA); 57. Artem Ternavski, D, Sherbrooke (QMJHL); 58. Shaone Morrisonn, D, Kamloops (WHL); 59. Francois Senez, D, RPI (ECAC); 60. Danny Bois, RW, London (OHL).Round Three61. Dennis Packard, LW, Harvard (ECAC); 62. Jason Ryznar, LW, US National U-18; 63. Arthur Femenella, D, Sioux City (USHL); 64. Matt Keith, RW, Spokane, (WHL); 65. Derek Smith, D, US National U-18; 66. Matt Jones, D, Green Bay (USHL); 67. Joel Stepp, C, Red Deer (WHL); 68. Brandon Nolan, C, Oshawa (OHL); 69. Chris Heid, D, Spokane (WHL); 70. Igor Pohanka, C, Prince Albert (WHL); 71. Erik Lundberg, D, New England; 72. Harlan Anderson, D. Moose Jaw (WHL); 73. Mike Jarmuth, D, Western Michigan (CCHA); 74. Cole Jarrett, D, Plymouth (OHL); 75. Gregg Johnson, C, Boston University (HE); 76. Jim Slater, C. Cleveland (NAHL); 77. Renat Mamachev, D, Moose Jaw (WHL); 78. Andrew Alberts, D, Waterloo (USHL); 79. Richie Regeher,; D. Kelowna (WHL); 80. Joey Hope, D, Portland (WHL); 81. Carter Trevisani, D, Ottawa (OHL); 82. Jesse Lane, D, US National U-18; 83. Mike i Woodford, W, Cushing Academy (US high 1 school); 84. Drew Kivell, D, Sudbury (OHL); 85. &lsquo;Joe Campbell, D, Des Moines (USHL); 86. Neil Komadoski, Notre Dame (CCHA); 87. Brandon; Rogers, D, Hotchkiss (US high school); 88. James Massen, RW, Sioux Falls (USHL); 89. Scott Polaski, RW. Sioux City, (USHL); 90. Kenny. Smith, D, Harvard (ECHA).Round Four91. Jeremy Jackson. C, Michigan State (CCHA); 92. Anthony Aquino, RW, Merrimack (HE); 93. Cody Mccormick, RW, Belleville (OHL); 94. Sean Curry, D, Tri-City (WHL); 95. Andy Schneider, D, Lincoln (USHL); 96. Jordin Tootoo, RW. Brandon (WHL); 97. Milan Jurcina, 0, Halifax (QMJHL); 98. Michael Erickson, W. Eden Prairie HS; 99. Frantisek Bakrlik, RW, Barrie (OHL); 100. Mathieu Roy. 0, Val-d&rsquo;or (QMJHL). 101. David Klema, C. Des Moines (USHL); 102. J-F Soucy, C. Montreal (QMJHL); 103. Kyle Bruce, RW, Prince Albert (WHL); 104. Robin Leblanc, RW. Baie-Comeau (QMJHL); 105. Dustin Johner, C, Seattle (WHL); 106. Marcus Smith. D. Kitchener (OHL); 107. Bryce Lampman, D, Omaha (USHL); 108. James Hakewiil, D, Westminister; 109. Noah Welch, 0, St. Sebastian&rsquo;s (US high school); 110. Jake Riddle. LW, Seattle (WHL); 111. Andrew Archer, D, Guelph (OHL); 112. Frantisek Lukes, LW, St. Michael&rsquo;s (OHL); 113. Jim Gagnon. C. Kitchener (OHL); 114. Chad Wolkowski. LW. Calgary (WHL); 115. Jeff Doyle. RW, North Bay (OHL); 116. Trevor Blanchard, LW, Owen Sound (OHL); 117. Tom Gilbert, D. Bloom.-Jefferson (US high school); 118. Christopher Higgins. C, Avon Old Farms (US high school); 119. Craig MacDonald, C, Noble and Greenough (US high school); 120. Mark Rooneem, LW. Kamloops (WHL).Round Five121. Kyle Wellwood, Belleville (OHL); 122. Brad Zanon, 0, Tri-City (WHL); 123. Brian Sipotz, D. Miami-Ohio (CCHA); 124. Cam Paddock, C, Kelowna (WHL); 125. Frantisek Skladany, LW, Boston University (HE); 126. Andrew Brown, RW, Guelph (OHL); 127. Kevin Seibel. D, Swift Current (WHL); 128. Simon Nadeau. C, Drummondville (QMJHL); 129. Brandon Segal, RW. Calgary (WHL); 130. Nicolas Corbeil, C. Sherbrooke (QMJHL); 131. Marco Rosa, LW. Merrimack (HE); 132. Ryan Lannon. D. Cushing Academy (US high school); 133. Dale Sullivan. RW, Hull (QMJHL); 134. Duncan Keith, D, Penticton (BCJHL); 135. Adam Mitchell, C/LW, Owen Sound (Ontario JR B); 136. Brock Radunski, LW, Newmarket (OPJHL); 137. Simon Ferguson, D, Lethbridge (WHL); 138. Dwight Helminen, C, US National U-18; 139. Andrew Davidson, RW, Tri-City (WHL). 140. Jan Platil, D, Barrie (OHL); 141. Michael Knoepfli, Georgetown (OPJHL); 142. Mathieu Dumas, D, Cape Breton (QMJHL); 143. Nick Kuiper, D, Hawkesbury (OPJHL); 144. McGregor Faulkner. LW, Wexford (OPJHL); 145. Mikael Hammarstrom, RW, RPI (HE); 146. Colin Peters, 0, St. Cloud State (WCHA); 147. Rene Bourque, C, Wisconsin (WCHA); 148. Alexander Kulakov, W. Lowell (HE); 149. Craig Kennedy, RW. Windsor (OHL); 150. Justin Maiser, C. US National U-18.Round Six151. Lee Falardeau, C, US National U-18; 152. Jake Brenk, C, Breck School (US high school); 153. Sean Gallagher, W. Pittsburgh Jr. Penguins (NAHL). 154. Derek Nesbitt. C, Sarnia (Ontario Jr. B); 155. Ryan Connelly, C. Waterloo (USHL); 156. Tom Cavanagh, RW, Phillips Exeter; 157. Alex Rouleau, D, Val-d&rsquo;or (QMJHL); 158. Aaron Forsythe, D, Mankato State (WCHA); 159. Eric Himelfarb, C, Sarnia (OHL); 160. Joel Perreault, C, Bale-Comeau (QMJHL); 161. Jim Lorentz, LW, St. Lawrence (ECHA); 162. John Adams, D, Breck School (US high school); 163. Patrick Murphy, LW, Newmarket (OPJHL); 164. Matthew Duncan, W, Bloom.-Jefferson (US high school); 165. Jean-Francois Cyr, RW. Drummondville (QMJHL); 166. Ben Eaves, C. Boston College (HE); 167. Sean Collins, C, Reading H.S. (US high school); 168. Jonathan Labelle, C. Hull (QMJHL); 169. Ryan Trowbridge, W, Taft H.S. (US high school); 170. Nathan O&rsquo;nabigon, Mississauga (OHL); 171. Joe Pomaranski, D, US National U-18; 172. Judd Stevens, 0. Green Bay (USHL); 173. Zbynek Mlchalek, D, Shawinigan (QMJHL); 174. Yan Stastny, C, Omaha (USHL); 175. Matthew Green, D, US National U-18; 176. Neil Petruic, D, Kindersley (SJHL); 477. Andy Contois, LW, Green Bay (USHL); 178. Marcel Rodman, RW, Peterborough (OHL); 179. Fred Meyer, D, Boston University (HE); 180. Sean Scully, RW, Ottawa (OHL).Goaltenders1. Pascal LeClaire, Halifax (QMJHL); 2. Daniel Blackburn, Kootenay (WHL); 3. Daniel Boisclalr, Cape Breton (QMJHL); 4. Adam Munro, Erie (OHL); 5. Michael Garnett, Red Deer (WHL); 6. Andy Chiodo, St. Michael&rsquo;s (OHL); 7. Peter Budaj, I St. Michael&rsquo;s (OHL); 8. Drew MacIntyre, Sherbrooke (QMJHL); 9. Joel Martin, Lethbridge (WHL); 10. Jan Chovan, Belleville (OHL); 11. I Jason Bacashihua, Chicago; 12. Lanny Ramage, Portland (WHL); 13. Nick Pannoni, Seattle (WHL); 14. Steve Belanger, Kamloops (WHL); 15&hellip;Ray Emery, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL); 16. Paulo Colaiacovo. Belleville (OHL); 17. Olivier Dannel, Chicoutimi (QMJHL); 18. Billy Thompson, Prince George (WHL); 19. Ben McMullin, Medicine Hat (WHL); 20. Cory Roberts. Owen Sound (OHL); 21. Andrew Penner. North Bay (OHL); 22. Scott Dickie, Kitchener (OHL); 23. Jeff Harvey, Kootenay (WHL); 24. Denis Berube, Rimouski (WHL); 25. Mike Smith, Sudbury (OHL); 26. Kevin Fines, Findlay (CHA); 27. John Ceci, Ottawa (OHL); 28. Mike McKenna, Springfield (NEJHL); 29. David Leneveu. Nanaimo, (BCJHL); 30. Beau Fritz. Lincoln (USHL).Europeans1. Ilya Kovalchuk, W, Spartak (RUS Div I); 2. Alexander Svitov, C, Omsk (RUS); 3. Tuomo Ruutu, C/W, Jokerit (FIN); 4. Mlkko Koivu, C. TPS (FIN); 5. Stanislav Chistov, W, Omsk (RUS); 6. Fredrik Sjostrom, W, Frolunda (SWE); 7. Egor Shastin, W. Omsk (RUS); 8. Alexander Perezhugin, W, Omsk (RUS); 9. Jiri Novotny, C. Omsk, (RUS); 10. Alexander Polushin, W, Tver (RUS Div I); 11. Vladimir Korsunov. D, Spartak (RUS Div I); 12. Jens Karlsson, W, Frolunda (SWE); 13. Igor Knyazev, D, Spartak (RUS Div I); 14. Tuukka Mantyla, D. Tappara (FIN); 15. Martin Kaslk, W. Sparta JR (CZE); 16. Daniel Volrab. W, Sparta JR (CZE JR); 17. Marcel Goc, C, Schwenningen (GER); 18. Fedor Tyutin. D, St. Petersburg (RUS); 19. Tomas Slovak, D, Kosice (SLO); 20. Tomas Plekanec, W, Kladno (CZE); 21. Timofei Shiskanov, W. Spartak (RUS Oiv I); 22. Yared Hagos, C/W, Aik JR (SWE); 23. Konstantin, C, Nizhnekamsk (RUS); 24. Beat Forster, D, Davos (SUI); 25. Evgeni Artioukin. W. Podolsk (RUS); 26. Viktor Utchevatov, D. Yarolsavl II (RUS); 27. Ville Hamalainen, W, Saipa (FIN); 28. Oliver Setzinger, C, Ilves JR (FIN); 29. Kiril Kolstov, D, Omsk (RUS). 30. Thomas Nussli. W, Zug (SUI).Goaltenders1. Thomas Duba, Sparta JR (CZE); 2. Andrei Medvedev, Spartak, (RUS Div I); 3. Tuomas Nissinen, Kalpa JR (FIN); 4. Kristoffer Olsson, Brynas (SWE JR); 5. Mathias Schoder, Winterthur (SUI Div I); 6. Carl Lundqvist, Hammarby JR (SWE); 7. Alexei Kuznetsov. Omsk (RUS).<h2>WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02612/7447364-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="521" height="1984"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03503/7447357-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="531" height="3526"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04382/7447350-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="515" height="3524"></div> &#9632;

f0033-05

NHL GAME SUMMARIES

<h2>AMERICAN LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01826/7447696-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="493" height="2070"></div><h2>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02555/7447689-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="503" height="1286"></div><h2>EAST COAST LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03428/7447682-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="487" height="2172"></div><h2>WEST COAST LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04351/7447675-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="493" height="1186"></div><h2>UNITED LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05312/7447668-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="493" height="1396"></div><h2>WESTERN PRO LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06275/7447661-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="497" height="1132"></div><h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07246/7447654-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="491" height="766"></div><h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-08207/7447647-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="489" height="1756"></div><h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-09178/7447640-1-eng-US/f0037-092.jpg" title="f0037-09" width="505" height="1584"></div><h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-10158/7447633-1-eng-US/f0037-102.jpg" title="f0037-10" width="493" height="1660"></div><h2>CENTRAL COLLEGIATE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-11131/7447626-1-eng-US/f0037-112.jpg" title="f0037-11" width="493" height="542"></div><h2>HOCKEY EAST</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-12114/7447619-1-eng-US/f0037-122.jpg" title="f0037-12" width="509" height="456"></div><h2>EASTERN COLLEGIATE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-13104/7447612-1-eng-US/f0037-132.jpg" title="f0037-13" width="495" height="514"></div><h2>WESTERN COLLEGIATE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1495/7447605-1-eng-US/f0037-142.jpg" title="f0037-14" width="487" height="484"></div><h2>METRO ATLANTIC</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1583/7447598-1-eng-US/f0037-152.jpg" title="f0037-15" width="491" height="474"></div><h2>COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1672/7447591-1-eng-US/f0037-162.jpg" title="f0037-16" width="481" height="342"></div><h2>ATLANTIC UNIVERSITIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1765/7447584-1-eng-US/f0037-172.jpg" title="f0037-17" width="485" height="449"></div><h2>CANADA WEST</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1860/7447577-1-eng-US/f0037-182.jpg" title="f0037-18" width="494" height="501"></div><h2>ONTARIO UNIVERSITIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-1954/7447570-1-eng-US/f0037-192.jpg" title="f0037-19" width="484" height="769"></div> &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

January 26, 2001

Hot goalie, road prowess keys for surging Sharks

Leafs, Lindros insist talks far from dead

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

Canadiens hope home cooking can spark a spirited playoff run