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.

May 3, 2001

The Hockey News May 3, 2001

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Matt McHale</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05222/7570108-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="220" height="252"></div>Every King knows about the Miracle on Manchester, the night in April of 1992 when Los Angeles overcame a 5-0 third-period deficit to the mighty Edmonton Oilers to win 6-5.It lives on as the franchise&rsquo;s greatest moment.Now, the Kings have made a little bit of their own history.After dropping the first two games of their first-round series with the Detroit Red Wings, the Kings broke a 14-game playoff losing streak by winning Game 3 2-1 on a goal by Jozef Stumpel.Still, nobody could prepare them for what happened in Game 4. L.A. trailed 30 with just over six minutes to play; in the next 5:14, they scored three goals, two on the power play to tie the game. In overtime, Eric Belanger scored the improbable game-winner.&ldquo;Between the second and third periods, I told the team, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m tired of hearing about Dave Taylor and those guys,&rdquo;&rsquo; said coach Andy Murray. &ldquo;They had their miracle. Let&rsquo;s have ours.&rdquo;ANALYSIS As important as Game 4 was for the Kings, it probably would not have happened if they lost Game 3, where a loss would have put them down 3-0. Their first playoff victory in 15 games ended a league-wide streak of futility.OFFENSE The Kings had not scored on the power play in 50 consecutive playoff attempts dating back to April 1998 against St. Louis before Scott Thomas made it 3-1 with 6:07 left in regulation time. Stumpel then added a second goal less than four minutes later. Last season, the Kings went 0-for-23 with the man advantage against Detroit, the biggest reason they were swept. This year, without top point man Rob Blake things didn&rsquo;t look to get much better. The Kings were 0-for-18 in the series before Thomas broke through.NOTEBOOK Right winger Scott Thomas, a journeyman who earlier this season scored his first NHL goal in seven years, has become a fan favorite&hellip;In the Miracle on Manchester, Jim Fox scored the tying goal and Darryl Evans scored the game winner. Both are now broadcasters for the Kings&hellip;Defenseman Mathieu Schneider led L.A. in points (four) and shots (15) through four games. &#9632;

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NHL TEAM REPORTS

Kings snap losing streak with memories of Miracle

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011575/7569146-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Canapress)</figcaption></div>Edmonton&rsquo;s Ryan Smyth visits Eddie &lsquo;The Eagle&rsquo; Belfour&rsquo;s nest during the clubs&rsquo; hotly contested first round playoff series.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021326/7569139-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="273" height="293"><figcaption class="caption-body">Scott Stevens</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03995/7569132-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="253" height="267"><figcaption class="caption-body">Editor-in-Chief Steve Dryden appears on pg. 11</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see what they think while their knees are buckling and they have spit coming out the side of their mouth.San Jose&rsquo;s Gary Suter says whoever approved seam-less glass should be forced to test it-head first. Pg. 3.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04753/7569125-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="475" height="338"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05509/7569118-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="418" height="740"><figcaption class="caption-body">Trevor Linden</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06383/7569111-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="416" height="626"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eric Belanger (Ml Headshots: BBS)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Downed Eagle

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011767/7569715-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Montreal&rsquo;s skill stopped the Broad Street Bullies, but the Habs&rsquo; toughness helped, too. (BBS)</figcaption></div>Though every spring losers&rsquo; tears are shed, some Stanley Cup finals become watersheds. The winner always sets the standard for success, but sometimes even presents a new model in the game&rsquo;s evolution.In 1976 the mantle was passed, in part, because the new champions failed to pass out at the very sight of the old ones.It has been 25 years since hockey&rsquo;s renaissance was perceived to be held hostage by the two-time and two-fisted champions, the Philadelphia Flyers. And with the Holy Grail in the hands of the heathens, the Montreal Canadiens were on a crusade to rescue it.&ldquo;The Flyers scared a lot of people,&rdquo; said Larry Robinson. &ldquo;And I know we felt all eyes were on us.&ldquo;A lot of players on other teams spoke to us hoping we would win the series just to prove you didn&rsquo;t have to intimidate to win.&rdquo;The Canadiens, retooling since their 1973 Cup, had re-emerged with a hybrid, and Guy Lafleur as its star. The team was anchored by the huge and hugely skilled Robinson, Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe on defense; complemented by two gritty and quick checking lines; and backstopped by future Hall of Famer Ken Dryden. Fast, skilled and muscular, the Canadiens had no weakness, except potentially in the knees, going against a team that for two seasons had been unbeatable on the sheer force of its will.&ldquo;A lot of teams made major personnel adjustments based on the way the Flyers played in those days,&rdquo; said Craig Ramsay, a Sabre on the 1975 team that had eliminated Montreal before losing in the final to Philadelphia.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021326/7569708-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="321" height="380"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jay Greenberg Columnist</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We had tough guys who could stand up to them, but the uncertainty of what would happen was a factor.&ldquo;That visiting locker room at the Spectrum was the quietest in the league. You would play some three-and-a-half-hour games against them and some in which they didn&rsquo;t take a penalty.&ldquo;They were disciplined in their own way to play the same game night after night. You didn&rsquo;t get many rebound chances against them. They won the Stanley Cup because they were a very good team and I mean T-E-A-M in capital letters. They supported each other.&rdquo;Bobby Clarke, enjoying his third Hart Trophy season, had centered a line with Bill Barber and Reggie Leach to a record 141 goals and led the indefatigable Flyers to 118 points, despite the absence of perennial 40-goal scorer Rick MacLeish, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in February, and goalie Bernie Parent, a two-time Conn Smythe winner. Parent, who needed neck surgery at the beginning of the season, had returned a rusty relic of his old self and been benched for backup Wayne Stephenson during the first round series against Toronto.Meanwhile, Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry had charged four Flyers for game-related acts of violence during that seven-game victory making them seem more evil and irrepressible than ever.&ldquo;I remember a comment from Bob Gainey that the Flyers were bad for hockey and I thought that was idiotic,&rdquo; said Gary Dornhoefer, one of Philadelphia&rsquo;s relentless cornermen and front-of-the-net irritants. &ldquo;We were the best draw in the league. We had three players (Clarke, Barber and Parent) make the Hall of Fame. What more do you want?&rdquo;Uh, blood, both their own and that of opponents. &ldquo;I hated them both because of the way they played and because they were champions,&rdquo; said Robinson, now coach of the New Jersey Devils.&ldquo;They had a system and (coach Fred) Shero had each guy believing in himself. They were a helluva team (and) were the big, bad Broad Street Bullies and weren&rsquo;t reluctant to build on that.&rdquo;The result was one of those rare confrontations one couldn&rsquo;t picture either team losing, moral arguments and contrasting styles making it perhaps the most anticipated final ever.&ldquo;People ask me my most memorable series,&rdquo; Robinson said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the one I think of first.&rdquo;The Canadiens rallied on late goals by Jacques Lemaire and Lapointe to overcome an early 20 deficit and win a Game 1 played too wide open for the Flyers&rsquo; tastes, 4-3, at the Forum. The champions tightened it up in Game 2, but so did Montreal. Robinson nailed Dornhoefer with a second period check that put a crack in the boards, necessitating a delay for repairs.&ldquo;I was spitting up blood for a week,&rdquo; Dornhoefer recalled.The Canadiens, convinced they had too much depth for the Flyers, used their big bodies and four lines to their advantage. Getting goals off steals by Lemaire and Lafleur, Montreal won again 2-1.In Game 3 at the Spectrum, Leach, checked ferociously by Gainey, nevertheless scored twice to overcome Stephenson&rsquo;s early muff of Steve Shutt&rsquo;s 70-foot sinker. But Shutt put in his own rebound and Pierre Bouchard, one of the Canadiens&rsquo; tough guys, won the game, 3-2, with a third period goal.Clarke, hobbled by torn knee cartilage, was set up twice by the red-hot Leach in Game 4 and the Flyers applied their best sustained pressure of the series in grabbing a 3-2 lead on Andre Dupont&rsquo;s power play goal. But Yvon Cournoyer, on a power play, and Lafleur scored before Pete Mahovlich, fed by the brilliant Lafleur, backhanded in the only insurance goal the Canadiens managed in winning four games by a total of five goals.Never before or since has a sweep been such an epic.&ldquo;Somewhere down the line people will see that we won in four straight and think this was easy,&rdquo; Dryden told reporters. &ldquo;But if you notice, we&rsquo;re drinking our champagne sitting down.&rdquo;The Canadiens had matched Philadelphia&rsquo;s physicality and their speed had been the difference in winning their first of what would become four straight Cups.&ldquo;Montreal showed you still had to be a team and check the way the Flyers did, but if you were going to compete with these next champions, you had to have speed,&rdquo; Ramsay said. &ldquo;Some teams had made adjustments to get big and now they couldn&rsquo;t skate with Montreal.A trickle of European players into the NHL was becoming a flood. Following the Canadiens&rsquo; reign, even the Flyers came back to the 1980 final against the Islanders with a speedier version, although one just as fast to be hated.&ldquo;We did enough foolish things to probably deserve the way we&rsquo;re remembered,&rdquo; Clarke recalls, &ldquo;even if it is overlooked how many good players we had and how many tough guys Montreal had.&ldquo;That (1976 team) was our best. I think if we had been healthier we could have beaten them that year, but we never would have beat them the next year. The league had to wait until they phased themselves out. Nobody has ever been able to put a team like that together again. &ldquo;&#9633;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011554/7569701-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="1839" height="1501"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hammer Time&nbsp;Philadelphia fans in the mid-1970s had a special place in their hearts - and on their heads-for Flyers&rsquo; tough guy Dave &lsquo;The Hammer&rsquo; Schultz. (BBS)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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COLUMN

Montreal sweep ended Bullies’ era

Coaches come and go on hockey teams and so do players. But equipment men are fixtures, if they&rsquo;re good at their jobs.Take Turk Evers, who handles the needs of players and coaches for the Flyers. He&rsquo;s been there 25 years, back to the mid 70s. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked for 13 coaches,&rdquo; said Evers. Some coaches have come, gone and come back. &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve worked for Pat Quinn and Bob McCammon twice. Terry Murray, Terry Simpson, Roger Neilson, Bill Barber, Craig Ramsay, Mike Keenan, Paul Holmgren - how many is that?&rdquo; Throw Bill Dineen and Wayne Cashman in there, too.&ldquo;The thing is the coaches have never questioned anything I&rsquo;ve done. As soon as a guy gets hired, I go into to see the new coach and ask - is there anything you&rsquo;d like different? They say &ldquo;no, you&rsquo;ve been doing it so long, don&rsquo;t change,&rdquo; said Evers. &ldquo;It helps to get a coach or a general manager you had as a player. Makes the transition less difficult.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02711/7570791-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="282" height="330"><figcaption class="caption-body">Turk Evers Equipment Manager</figcaption></div>Bobby Clarke has been a player and the GM, twice. Paul Holmgren&rsquo;s been a player, coach and now he&rsquo;s Clarke&rsquo;s assistant. Ron Hextall&rsquo;s been a goalie on the club a couple of times, now he&rsquo;s a pro scout. &ldquo;Terry Murray is back again, too (as a pro scout). How many players has Evers worked with? &ldquo;Gawd, 100s. These days you don&rsquo;t throw nameplates away. Guys keep coming back. I had Kjell Samuelsson three times. I&rsquo;ve had Rick Tocchet twice, Mark Recchi twice. Dave Brown and Keith Acton twice,&rdquo; said Evers. &ldquo;One thing that has stayed the same is the ownership. It&rsquo;s been the same every year (Ed Snider and others). Evers has seen it all. Biggest change, apart from his appearance?&rdquo;&lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got more grey hair and about 20 pounds. Heavier, not lighter.&rdquo; he said, with a laugh. The team also charters everywhere now after flying commercial for so many years. &ldquo;We started going charter during the Gulf War because of the scare from terrorists. Makes it a lot easier,&rdquo; said Evers.Evers loves what he does. &ldquo;Hockey is different than any other sport and I have friends who work the other sports. You can hang with the players in hockey. In hockey, you have stereos blasting. In other sports, the guys all have their Walkman, listening to their own music. Guys don&rsquo;t associate. No matter how much you make in hockey, guys stick together,&rdquo; he said.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03510/7570784-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="1924" height="314"></div>THE CHOICE OF PROFESSIONALSBlademaster&trade; skate sharpening systems are used extensively by N.H.L. teams, Team Canada and Team USA.GUSPRO INC. Chatham. Ontario. Canada N7M 5L5 Tel: (519) 352-4550 Fox: (519) 352-7676 Toll-Free: 1-888-648-7776 website: <a href="http://www.guspro.com">www.guspro.com</a> &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

FROM THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS’ LOCKER ROOM:

Four teams are in the hunt for a head coach and they could be joined by at least two others before long.Anaheim, Boston, Chicago and the Islanders are looking for new bench bosses, Florida may join that group once the Panthers are sold and there is uncertainty surrounding Ron Low with the Rangers. Duane Sutter is the incumbent with Florida. Peter Laviolette is the frontrunner in Boston, so the list of current available positions is really down to three. Public knowledge and informed speculation has the list of candidates for the three teams as follows:Anaheim: Bryan Trottier and Alain Vigneault. Jacques Martin would be the favorite in the unlikely event he were fired by Ottawa.Chicago: Al MacAdam, Bryan and Terry Murray, Denis Savard and Dave Tippett.Islanders: Kevin Constantine, Robbie Ftorek, Bryan Murray, Ted Nolan, Jim Schoenfeld and Trottier.For more on each non-playoff team&rsquo;s coaching situation, see individual team stories beginning on pg. 22.Other prominent former coaches available for work are a trio of Jack Adams Award winners Pat Burns, Mike Keenan and Brian Sutter.The x-factor was whether any teams still in the first round of the playoffs will change coaches if they failed to advance.Additionally, there will be the usual speculation whether Detroit legend Scotty Bowman is set to retire this season. &#9632;

Who will be new coaches?

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011833/7569201-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Big Thrills Buffalo&rsquo;s Curtis Brown was among the many overtime heroes in the first round of the playoffs. (BBS)</figcaption></div>A trio of promising teenagers are among a group of players added to the Canadian national women&rsquo;s team roster as it prepares for the 2002 Winter Olympics.Forwards Gillian Apps and Cherie Piper and goalie Char-line Labonte are three of 10 players added to Canada&rsquo;s World Championship roster. The 30 women will gather in Calgary on a full-time basis Aug. 5 in preparation for the Winter Games that kick off Feb. 11 in Salt Lake City. (See pg. 36 for a full roster.)Piper, 19, and Apps, 18, were second and third in scoring for the National Women&rsquo;s League champion Beatrice Aeros. Piper had 22 goals and 44 points in 29 games, while Apps, the granddaughter of Hall of Famer Syl Apps, had 22, goals and 42 points in 36 games.Labonte, 18, played for a weak Laval LeMistral team in the NWHL and had a 1-12-1 record and 5.08 goals-against average. She became the first female to play regularly at the major junior level when she spent 1999-2000 with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec League.Canada is coming off its seventh straight gold medal at the World Championship.In the NWHL final April 15, Beatrice won the championship with an 8-1 victory over Saint-Julie Pantheres to win the two-game, three-point series 3-1.It was the second NWHL title for North York, Ont.based Beatrice, whose roster includes six players on Canada&rsquo;s national team roster. In that group is NWHL tournament MVP Geraldine Heaney. &#9632;

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Teen sensations named

Gary Suter was knocked out of the San Jose-St. Louis series in Game 1 after absorbing a hit along the boards from Scott Mellanby. Suter blamed the Savvis Center&rsquo;s seamless glass. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve absorbed hundreds of those in my career,&rdquo; Suter said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if they should call that seamless glass or senseless glass.&rdquo; A number of players, coaches and GMs have voiced concerns about the seamless glass. &ldquo;I think whoever approves that kind of glass should strap on a helmet and have their head slammed into the glass,&rdquo; Suter said. &ldquo;And then we&rsquo;ll see what they think of the sightlines while their knees are buckling and they have spit coming out the side of their mouth.&rdquo;OVERTIME AT FURIOUS PACE It took less than two weeks of playoffs in 2001 for the NHL to exceed its entire total of overtime games in 2000. Thirteen games had gone into extra time - with six series yet to be decided - compared to nine all of last spring. Remarkably, every first round series featured at least one overtime game, the first time that has ever happened. Setting the pace were Dallas and Edmonton; four of their five games had gone into overtime. The NHL marks for most first round OT games (14) and most in one playoff year (28) were both established in 1993 when Montreal rode a 10-game unbeaten streak in OT to claim the Stanley Cup. Surprising was that every overtime game this season had been settled in the first overtime period. Three of last year&rsquo;s nine overtime games lasted more than 20 minutes of extra time.TWINS OFF TO GERMANY Sweden added forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Daniel Alfredsson and defenseman Mattias Ohlund for the World Championship in Germany (April 28-May 13). Canada added defenseman Wade Redden. The bulk of Russia&rsquo;s team will be comprised of Russian Superleague players. NHLers include defensemen Oleg Tverdovsky and Vitaly Vishnevski, plus forward Alexei Yashin&hellip;Playoff ratings for CBC&rsquo;s Hockey Night In Canada were up 14 per cent through eight days of first round action. The average audience through April 17 was 1,697,000, compared to 1,494,000 last season. &#9632;

THN ONE-TIMERS

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011762/7569305-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Great Catch Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Brad Richards has salt water in his background, but ice in his veins. A THN first-team all-rookie pick, he&rsquo;s joined by the players pictured on the right. (All Images: BBS)</figcaption></div>Surrounded by fishermen and raised in the ways of the sea, Brad Richards went and cut the line that had been in place for generations. The locals say he deserves everything he has coming.His father Glen earns a living trolling the waters off Canada&rsquo;s East Coast, just as Glen&rsquo;s father did before him and his father&rsquo;s father before that. Most of Brad&rsquo;s boyhood friends have already taken up their stations on the boats. Yet because he has done rather nicely with this hockey thing, Brad won&rsquo;t be back home in tiny Murray Harbour, P.E.I., for the start of lobster season this spring. Chances are he won&rsquo;t be home by May 1 for a long, long time.Glen could use the help, sure, but the old man is plenty pleased with how things have turned out. He always wanted his son to find something more secure than the fishery. It&rsquo;s why he sent him halfway across the country at age 14 to make sure he got a good education. You know, in case the hockey thing didn&rsquo;t work out.To the seas of doubters who said it never would, Brad sends his best from Germany. To the boys back home, he hopes the lobsters are plentiful and he&rsquo;ll be around to help raise the traps at the end of June. For now, his country calls.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s probably not kicking himself too bad,&rdquo; Glen said.Pinching himself, perhaps. Richards&rsquo; post-season jaunt to play for Canada at the World Championship caps a rookie NHL season that far surpassed anything the 1998 third round pick (64th overall) dared imagine. The Maritime kid who wanted only to play in the NHL and get his feet wet in Tampa Bay ended up making quite a splash, indeed.With 21 goals and 62 points, he made a mockery of the rookie scoring race, finishing 18 points ahead of Carolina&rsquo;s Shane Willis. And those who stuck the 20-year-old with that &ldquo;too slow, too small, too weak&rdquo; tag even after a spectacular final year of junior? He made them eat their words. He made a believer out of Lightning coach John Tortorella, who watched Richards in camp and wondered if his skating was good enough.&ldquo;Whatever he lacked in skating,&rdquo; Tortorella said, &ldquo;he made up in smarts.&rdquo;&ldquo;For some reason in my career there has been a lot of doubters,&rdquo; said Richards, who added 17 pounds to his legs and butt in a training regimen last summer. &ldquo;I did a lot more than a lot of people thought. If there are still critics, I don&rsquo;t really care about them now.&rdquo;Richards&rsquo; season-long production and perseverance through trying times makes him a shoo-in for THN&rsquo;s 2000-01 first all-rookie team. (See accompanying table for first and second teams.)On a personal level, it marked the first time Richards outscored his best pal, Lightning superstar-in-waiting Vincent Lecavalier. The two have played together going back to their junior days in Rimouski and boarding school at Notre Dame College in Saskatchewan. Richards always played well in Lecav-alier&rsquo;s shadow, but this season he turned the tables. When people in Tampa talked about brilliant on-ice vision and creativity, when the Lightning sought a forward who could play the point on the power play, it was the 6-foot-1, 197-pounds Richards who emerged.&ldquo;Yeah, it was weird,&rdquo; Richards said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s probably weirder for (Lecavalier). He was never jealous or trying to put me down. When I&rsquo;m playing good he lets me know. I owe a lot of this year to him.&rdquo;But the versatile forward said the most difficult part of the year was living up to the faith shown in him last fall by since-fired coach Steve Ludzik, who sent him out for power plays and a regular shift from Day 1. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to blow the chance,&rdquo; Richards said.Think about that. Tampa lost 47 games. Its coach was fired. Its best player, Lecavalier, was benched. Management traded promising youth for a goalie who hadn&rsquo;t played in two years. All this, Richards had the maturity to handle. Yet dealing with the pressure he put on himself to succeed and make proud the person who opened his NHL window &ndash; that was tough.&ldquo;I just love the way he thinks,&rdquo; Tortorella said. &ldquo;Part of the problem we have out here is that we don&rsquo;t have a lot of mental toughness on our team. And Brad Richards has that.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s the way they come when they come from the sea.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021497/7569298-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="264" height="308"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marian Gaborik</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04986/7569291-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="268" height="314"><figcaption class="caption-body">Shane Willis</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031218/7569284-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="264" height="310"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lubomir Visnovsky</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05795/7569277-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="264" height="310"><figcaption class="caption-body">Colin White</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06464/7569270-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="268" height="316"><figcaption class="caption-body">Evgeni Nabokov</figcaption></div><h2>THN&rsquo;S ALL-ROOKIE SELECTIONS</h2>The Hockey News&rsquo; all-rookie teams feature three forwards, regardless of position, two defensemen and a goalie. Only Calder Trophy-eligible players were considered.<h3>FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-07291/7569263-1-eng-US/f0004-072.jpg" title="f0004-07" width="786" height="326"></div><h3>SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-08200/7569256-1-eng-US/f0004-082.jpg" title="f0004-08" width="796" height="326"></div> &#9632;

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FEATURES

Richards proves ‘em wrong

<h2>Best of the Hockey World</h2>OILER GUSHES In his first taste of the NHL playoffs, Edmonton defender Eric Brewer nets six points in five games and is superb in his own end, too.OLD? NO, EXPERIENCED The &lsquo;Grumpy Old Men&rsquo; line of John MacLean (36), Kirk Muller (35) and Mike Keane (34) makes life miserable for the young, speedy Oilers.KINGS OF THE COMEBACK Los Angeles erases a 3-0 deficit in the dying minutes of Game 4 and goes on to beat Detroit in overtime.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-09173/7569343-1-eng-US/f0004-092.jpg" title="f0004-09" width="374" height="630"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eric Brewer</figcaption></div><h2>Worst of the Hockey World</h2>SENATORS&rsquo; MELTOWN The Ottawa Senators are swept from the first round of playoffs, managing just three goals in four games against Toronto.NO CALM DOM Dominik Hasek uncharacteristically allows three goals in four straight games, then blows his lid for a Game 5 misconduct against the Flyers.DIRTY POOL Capitals&rsquo; owner Ted Leonsis writes a computer program that won&rsquo;t allow fans in Pittsburgh to order tickets online for games in Washington.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-10125/7569336-1-eng-US/f0004-102.jpg" title="f0004-10" width="376" height="630"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dominik Hasek (All Images: BBS)</figcaption></div>For Mike Brophy&rsquo;s daily Cheers & Jeers visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> &#9632;

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PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Denis Gibbons</div>Playing beside the legendary Doug Harvey on the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; blueline, Dollard St. Laurent had the best teacher possible.The Verdun, Que., native won four Stanley Cups with the Canadiens from 1953 to 1958 and a fifth with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1961, after being traded in the 1958-59 season. &ldquo;I brought all the secrets on how to win the Stanley Cup to Chicago and when I left, I took them with me,&rdquo; joked the hard-hitting St. Laurent. The Hawks have not won the Cup since 1961.St. Laurent said he and Harvey worked in tandem to try to level Bobby Hull - usually without success - when the Golden Jet broke into the NHL in 1957. After joining the Hawks, St. Laurent called Harvey to tell him why it had been so difficult.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011759/7569374-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="250" height="287"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dollard St. Laurent (THN Archives)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;This guy is built like a brick s&mdash;house!&rdquo; he said over the phone.St. Laurent scored 29 goals and 162 points and accumulated 496 penalty minutes in 652 games with the Habs and Hawks, leaving the NHL in 1963 to enter the insurance business. Now 71, he&rsquo;s retired and living in Ville LaSalle, near Montreal. He has seven children and 10 grandchildren. &#9632;

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Rugged defender St. Laurent played alongside Harvey

I just have one question: Just who is good enough to coach the Boston Bruins?Pat Burns, a three-time coach of the year? No, he was fired less than 10 games into the season. Mike Keenan, a Stanley Cup and Canada Cup champion? No, he was let go at the end of the year. Apparently, there are coaches out there with even more credentials and experience.GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell shouldn&rsquo;t blame the coaches. There&rsquo;s one reason why the Bruins didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs - no Byron Dafoe or suitable replacement for much of the season. Consider that Dafoe was 22-14-7, while the other goalies were a combined 14-24-1. Maybe the Bruins&rsquo; management should take the blame on this one. Trading for an established goalie or signing someone with a more impressive resume than Peter Skudra could have salvaged the B&rsquo;s season.Mike Gauthier, Stratford, P.E.I.<h2>Boston doomed by injuries</h2>It&rsquo;s hard to comprehend what was going through the mind of Bruin GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell when he fired Mike Keenan.What could Keenan have accomplished with such an injury-riddled team? Nothing; yet, another excellent coach is on his way out of Boston and the Bruins are on their way to the links - and they&rsquo;ll be there early again next season, too.Neil Rockman, Winnipeg<h2>More women&rsquo;s hockey</h2>It never ceases to amaze me how little attention is paid to women&rsquo;s hockey.I&rsquo;ve been a THN subscriber for several years and I think the coverage of the minor pro teams, although enlightening, is largely overdone.The women of the National Women&rsquo;s Hockey League, U.S. colleges and Canadian universities are granted sparse, lip-service coverage. It&rsquo;s unfortunate since I&rsquo;m sure many readers would appreciate stories and statistics from the NWHL over those of the many glorified &ldquo;beer leagues.&rdquo;Donna Drover, Toronto &#9632;

B’s wrong to dust Keenan

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011961/7569453-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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ELSTON

By Game 4 of the Devils-Hurricanes series, Scott Stevens bore a scary resemblance to former WWF champ Sid &lsquo;Psycho&rsquo; Vicious. After Stevens knocked out Shane Willis and Ron Francis, all that was left to ask was: Who&rsquo;s next?Colin Short, Channel-Port-aux-Basques, Nfld.Brett &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t wait to get out of this game&rdquo; Hull for the Masterton Trophy? Is Hull&rsquo;s constant criticism of the NHL&rsquo;s on-ice product truly showing &ldquo;perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey?&rdquo; I think not.Daniel Meehan, Alpharetta, Ga.Thanks to Keith Tkachuk for all his years of hard work in Winnipeg and Phoenix. He deserves whatever success he attains. The Coyotes will miss him dearly.Jeff Stanley, PhoenixIf 4-on-4 overtime is the best thing to happen to the NHL since Wayne Gretzky, why isn&rsquo;t it used in the Stanley Cup playoffs? Simple, the league doesn&rsquo;t want its most important games decided by something that can be best described as a &ldquo;gimmick.&rdquo;John Ogren, Bemidji, Minn.Most NHL netminders took advantage of the no-contact rule this season. Make goalies fair game when they play the puck behind the net if you want to open up the game.Dave Karn, Guelph, Ont.<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;

Stevens relentless wrecking machine

Why is it that no one mentions poor ice conditions when debating ways to improve the NHL&rsquo;s product?Bad ice makes crisp passing and smooth stickhandling impossible, thereby dumbing the game down to the level of the clutchers and grabbers.It&rsquo;s no coincidence the Edmonton Oilers consistently have the most exciting team in the league - their sheet of ice is the best. Something must be done in most other arenas. If improving ice conditions means building hockey-only arenas, then do it. If it means revamping the existing arenas&rsquo; air conditioning and humidifying systems, then do it. I&rsquo;m tired of the puck bouncing so much that I can&rsquo;t tell if I&rsquo;m watching Pavel Bure or Alonzo Mourning.Tony Torres,&nbsp; Bloomington, Ind.<h2>Can&rsquo;t blame Collins</h2>This is in response to the letter that blamed the Tie Domi-Philadelphia fan incident on linesman Kevin Collins (THN, April 20).Come on - Collins obviously didn&rsquo;t push the heckling fans into the penalty box, nor did Collins squirt anybody with water. If there&rsquo;s anyone to blame for the incident, it&rsquo;s the fans in Philadelphia for their rude behavior.Grown adults need to take responsibility for their actions. Domi getting into a fight led to him going the the penalty box; not Collins doing his job.Joe Vance,&nbsp; Bristol, Ct.<h2>Devils have it all-except fans</h2>High-powered offense. Stingy, punishing defense. Vezina-caliber goaltending. Fiscal responsibility. No hideous third jerseys. And intermissions that actually make the condition of the ice a priority, rather than showcasing the best of sumo tricycle racing.Yet, -New Jersey regularly plays to far less than capacity crowds, even in the playoffs. Where, exactly, are the Devils&rsquo; fans? Maybe the fans in Quebec City or Winnipeg could give you some pointers on appreciating what you&rsquo;ve got.Kevin Zarifeh, Summerland, B.C.Got something to say?MAIL: U.S.A.: Letters, THN, PO. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y, 14240-9947.Canada: Letters, THN, 25 Sheppard Ave. W, Suite 100, Toronto, Ont., M2N 6S7E-MAIL: <a href="mailto:mccaigs@transcontinental.ca">mccaigs@transcontinental.ca</a> or visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>. Include name, hometown, province/state and phone number. Submissions will be edited. &#9632;

Make good ice a priority

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011780/7569546-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hats off to Mats Toronto captain Mats Sundin raised his level of play in Round 1 against Ottawa, something Leaf fans hope he can do on a consistent basis. (Dan Hamilton/VPS)</figcaption></div>All is well in Mats Sundin&rsquo;s world, though you&rsquo;d never know it by his expression. His Maple Leafs just completed a stunning four-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, yet looking at Sundin, you&rsquo;d think Toronto had done little more than squeak by Tampa Bay in a pre-season tilt.Sundin&rsquo;s ability to remain even-keeled has been something of a double-edged sword during his sometimes turbulent seven-year ride in Toronto. Depending who you talk to, it&rsquo;s either his saving grace or his main flaw. Does he weather storms gracefully or lack the heart of a truly great leader?After the first round, a lot of Leaf fans believe it&rsquo;s the former.&ldquo;Playoffs is a great time,&rdquo; said Sundin, sporting cuts along the bridge of his nose and lip, battle scars from Round 1. &ldquo;You always want to be playing hockey in the spring because that&rsquo;s when championships are handed out.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s also when credibility is gained and no player in Toronto entered the playoffs more under the gun than the 6-foot-4,220-pound center. The Leafs stumbled through the second half of the regular season, barely making it into the playoffs, and fans expected the worst. The Senators, after all, had beaten Toronto in all five regular season meetings.If the Leafs were eliminated in the opening round, somebody would have to pay. Maybe coach-GM Pat Quinn would have one - or both - of his portfolios taken away. More likely, though, it would be Sundin, whose contract is up. The Leafs need to make him a qualifying offer of $7.5 million (U.S.) to retain his rights. But is he worth the money?&ldquo;No matter what he does, it never seems to be enough,&rdquo; said backup goalie Glenn Healy. &ldquo;All I can say is he&rsquo;s a world-class player who has the respect of his teammates and who doesn&rsquo;t deserve the heat he gets.&rdquo;Leaf followers have had a lovehate relationship with the 30-year-old Swede. That he sleepwalked through another typical Sundin season, averaging less than a point a game, made him an obvious target for dart-throwers.Against Ottawa, however, he shone. Curtis Joseph opened the series with back-to-back road shutouts, Gary Roberts fired a pair of goals in Game 2, defenseman Dimitry Yushkevich was a rock, blueliner Cory Cross was the surprise hero of Game 3 with his overtime winner and Yanic Perreault supplied the bulk of the Leafs&rsquo; offense in Game 4, scoring twice.But Sundin was the thread that held everything together. He was a game star in three of the four games, playing with an edge he usually reserves for international competition. He scored twice, including the only goal - in overtime - in Game 1 and set up two other goals. He hit people, even got in a couple of punches during post-whistle scrums. He hacked guys in the legs from behind and generally acted like a player determined to have a say in the outcome of the series.&ldquo;He looks a little more focused in the playoffs,&rdquo; said Toronto left winger and fellow Swede, Jonas Hoglund. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like he&rsquo;s determined to have a good playoff and lead the team.&rdquo;There are a couple of schools of thought on Sundin. One is he is this spectacular individual talent, a gifted playmaker, who has never been given the type of linemates he requires to show his best stuff.You may have thought the addition of Roberts this season would have put an end to that, but it didn&rsquo;t. The two played together a bit early and were reunited for the playoffs. But for most of the year, Sundin played with Hoglund, a streaky scorer, and Steve Thomas, who has lost his scoring touch.Then there&rsquo;s the notion Sundin doesn&rsquo;t kick it into high gear on a consistent basis. Unquestionably there were times this season when his team was struggling and he was invisible. It&rsquo;s during those stretches when his leadership comes into question.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s probably playing in the toughest place to be team captain,&rdquo; Hoglund said. &ldquo;Every day somebody questions his ability to lead and it&rsquo;s not fair. Mats leads by example.&rdquo;That said, Doug Gilmour was Canada&rsquo;s most popular athlete when he captained the Maple Leafs. And Wendel Clark owned the city when he wore the &lsquo;C.&rsquo; If nothing else, fans loved the way those two guys reacted when their leadership was required. The tiny Gilmour would attack opponents with fire in his eyes. And Clark would simply beat somebody&rsquo;s brains out to light a fire under his team.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011853/7569539-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="2121" height="1257"><figcaption class="caption-body">Teammates say the talented Sundin mostly leads by example, but has a captive audience when he has something to say.</figcaption></div>It drives fans nuts that Sundin doesn&rsquo;t do those same things, even though it&rsquo;s clearly not his nature to act that way.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not a rah-rah kind of leader,&rdquo; Roberts said. &ldquo;Big deal. Sometimes those guys drive you nuts. They yell all the time and eventually you just tune them out. If Mats has something to say, he says it and people listen.&rdquo;Added Toronto agitator Darcy Tucker: &ldquo;Personally, I couldn&rsquo;t take it day in and day out without losing it. Mats never loses his cool. That is a calming influence on our team.&rdquo;Sundin is not prone to making bold statements in defense of his character or play If he cares about what people say about him, he doesn&rsquo;t let on. A year ago when it was suggested to him that fans seem to love him when the team is winning and blame him when it&rsquo;s losing, Sundin grinned and said: &ldquo;You noticed that, did you? I thought I was the only one who noticed it.&rdquo;Sundin has enjoyed some wonderful moments during international competition. Like in 1991 when he scored seven goals - including the gold medal winner - and 12 points in 10 games as Sweden won the World Championship. A year later Sweden defended its title and Sundin was named the best forward in the tournament. He was a World Cup all-star in 1996.None of that means squat to Leaf fans, many of whom this year would have gladly sacrificed him to get Eric Lindros, concussion history and all. They see a guy who is the team&rsquo;s highest-paid player and has but one 100-point season in his 11-year career. They see a terrifically talented individual who seems to lack passion. If ever the time was right to prove them wrong, it&rsquo;s now when he&rsquo;s on the verge of looking for a new contract.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t thought about it, really,&rdquo; Sundin said. &ldquo;I knew going into this season I wanted to have a good year and as a team we had high expectations. We improved our team, we got some free agents and the regular season was a roller coaster ride.&ldquo;I know for myself personally, I&rsquo;m really happy to have the playoffs started. It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve been waiting for.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021397/7569532-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="1732" height="1262"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alexei YashinDimitry Yushkevich (Top & Bottom: Dan Hamilton/VPN)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Sundin plays it cool

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Mike Brophy</div>Tear the damn thing down and start all over again! Fire the coach! Trade the star player! Get a new owner!That was the immediate reaction of many Ottawa Senator fans after their team meekly bowed out of the playoffs, losing four straight games to the underdog Toronto Maple Leafs. Ottawa, the third-highest scoring team in the regular season, had just three goals in their first round flop. Pathetic.Who can blame the fans? It&rsquo;s the third year in a row the Sens have answered an outstanding regular season with a dismal playoff. Ottawa finished fourth overall, but was embarrassed by a team it beat five times during the regular season, a team that barely crawled into the post-season itself.Sure Alexei Yashin was guarded closely by Shayne Corson. But did he try to fight through the coverage? No. The question now is, do the Sens trade Yashin? And what does a player with a history of contract disputes and a horrible playoff record fetch? At this point, Senators&rsquo; fans probably don&rsquo;t care.Don&rsquo;t count on coach Jacques Martin being canned. He signed an extension that pays him an average of $880,000 (U.S.) the next two years.The team is not financially sound and can&rsquo;t afford to pay him not to coach. Maybe they could trade him to Anaheim to work with his old boss, Pierre Gauthier.If the Senators do nothing else, they had better get some players with jam next season.These pretty boys can&rsquo;t win when it counts. &#9632;

Sad sack Sens crash and burn

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011823/7569608-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Down & Out Scott Stevens leaves Shane Willis in his wake after crushing the Cane with an open-ice check that left him with a concussion in Game 2 of the New Jersey-Carolina series. (Canapress)</figcaption></div>The image has remained with veteran Devils&rsquo; goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck.He can still see former Philadelphia teammate Eric Lindros heading for the New Jersey blueline during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final last spring. Lindros had his head down and paid a dear price when he was concussed and temporarily knocked unconscious by a devastating open-ice hit from Scott Stevens.&ldquo;If that wasn&rsquo;t a momentum-changer, I don&rsquo;t know what was,&rdquo; said Vanbiesbrouck a year later. &ldquo;It seemed like every series last year he did something to pick the team up. It&rsquo;s hard to change the momentum of a game or a series defensively. Usually it&rsquo;s an offensive guy. But Scott did it.&rdquo;And he has done it again this year. In a first round matchup with Carolina, Stevens sent rookie Shane Willis to the hospital after an open-ice hit in Game 2. He followed that by drilling Hurricanes&rsquo; captain Ron Francis along the boards in Game 3, a check that left Francis twice unable to get back up on his feet and sent the much-respected center crawling back toward the Carolina bench. (See pg. 39 for more on Willis hit.)Willis and Francis were just the latest on Stevens&rsquo; hit parade. The 6-foot-2,215-pound defenseman has punished dozens of players over the course of his 19-year NHL career. He helped the Devils win their first Stanley Cup in 1995 with his Game 2 wipeout of Detroit forward Slava Kozlov during the final.But it was last year that Stevens drew the most attention for his physical play when he led the Devils to their second championship, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy for a post-season few will forget.&ldquo;I think I will always appreciate what he did. His performance at that age (36 last year), that&rsquo;s what legends are made of,&rdquo; said teammate Bobby Holik. &ldquo;He was always going into the Hall of Fame, but that assured him. He had one helluva playoff. We all did, but he was voted the Conn Smythe for a reason.&rdquo;After helping to shut down Pavel Bure in the first round, Stevens delivered memorable open-ice hits to Maple Leafs Tomas Kaberle, Kevyn Adams and Tie Domi in the conference semifinal. He knocked Daymond Langkow of the Flyers out of the conference final before declaring the 2000 playoffs were his with The Lindros Hit.Few question the legality of Stevens&rsquo; hits. While there is concern about players getting hurt, Stevens almost always delivers his checks within the rules of the game.&ldquo;Scotty doesn&rsquo;t hit dirty,&rdquo; said Devils&rsquo; coach Larry Robinson, himself considered one of the best hitters ever. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re all upset because he hits people, but he&rsquo;s probably one of the cleanest players in the NHL.&rdquo;Robinson said the biggest hitter he could recall, before Stevens, was Doug Jarrett, a Chicago Black Hawk defenseman in the 1960s and &lsquo;70s.The two biggest criticisms of Stevens&rsquo; hits in the series against Carolina were that he flattened Willis with only 11.7 seconds remaining in Game 2 with the Devils in control and that he picked on Francis, a player Hurricanes&rsquo; coach Paul Maurice said doesn&rsquo;t deserve such punishment.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know who it was,&rdquo; responded Stevens. &ldquo;They shot the puck around the boards and I was going to hit the first guy on the boards.&rdquo;He defended his late hit on Willis by saying: &ldquo;If there were only 11 seconds left we should have called it right there, I guess. Even if there is one second left, the game is not over. I don&rsquo;t know how much time is left. I just finish my checks.&rdquo;Teammate John Madden said Stevens does not try to injure with his checks.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been clobbered before,&rdquo; Madden said. &ldquo;No matter how clean the hit is, your first instinct is always to think the other guy did something wrong to you. And yet, most times, you look at the tape and it really was a clean hit. I think most of the guys Scott hits, they know he wasn&rsquo;t looking to hurt them.&rdquo;Stevens said he does not target his victims.&ldquo;Nothing is planned,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is a fast game. The only thing planned in this game is the power play.&rdquo;His victims may not be planned, but the results have become an intimidation tool. Many forwards do not want to enter Stevens&rsquo; territory and, when they do, they do so carefully.&ldquo;People know he&rsquo;ll step up on you, so his job is already accomplished,&rdquo; said goaltender Martin Brodeur. &ldquo;Nobody will try to split the defense with Scotty out there. That&rsquo;s the payoff for what he did last year. It&rsquo;s &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s not go there.&rdquo;There is also the revenge factor. Some teams, like the Hurricanes in Game 3 of their playoff series with the Devils, go out of their way to get back at Stevens. All it did was throw Carolina off their game.&ldquo;If I can get them worrying about me, it distracts them and gets them off their game. It&rsquo;s fine with me,&rdquo; Stevens said.Clearly, there is respect for Stevens around the NHL.&ldquo;You&rsquo;re not going to intimidate Scott Stevens. You&rsquo;re not going to run him through the boards,&rdquo; Maurice said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t come into a game thinking you&rsquo;re going to take this guy out.&rdquo;Stevens is certain sooner or later someone will try to be the player who pays him back.&ldquo;I know he&rsquo;s out there, the guy who thinks he can make his reputation by going after a guy who&rsquo;s perceived the way I am,&rdquo; Stevens acknowledged. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m always on the lookout. Because all it will take is a moment of carelessness and it&rsquo;ll happen. I know that. I&rsquo;m ready for him. I always am.&rdquo;And that may be the single biggest factor in Stevens&rsquo; talent for destruction. There are bigger players and better skaters. But there are few who play with such intensity and focus until the very last second.And the intensity Stevens displays on the ice can often be seen off it. &ldquo;My wife says I&rsquo;m too serious. I don&rsquo;t think you can be too serious,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll get even more serious and focused this time of year. I&rsquo;m pretty much ugly and a bear to be around. I think that&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;ve stayed in the league as long as I have. I don&rsquo;t want to let myself down or my teammates down.&rdquo;Stevens has certainly left his mark.&ldquo;When I retire I want to be known as someone who came to play every night,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I want people to say that I played honestly, won Stanley Cups and was one of the toughest hitters they ever saw in this game. To my way of thinking, there&rsquo;s nothing better.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what legends are made of&rdquo;</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011634/7569601-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="3087" height="828"><figcaption class="caption-body">(First & third from left: BBS; others: Canapress)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Steamin’ Demon

The time has come to declare Scott Stevens the most devastating bodychecker in the history of the game.With a body count piling up for a second consecutive spring, is there any doubt? Never before has a player delivered crushing bodychecks with Stevens&rsquo; consistency. He has administered four concussioncausing body blows in two playoff years, sending Daymond Langkow, Eric Lindros, Shane Willis and Ron Francis to the sidelines after each of them met head-on with hockey&rsquo;s answer to e=mc2.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there has been anybody who hits as hard as Stevens,&rdquo; said Harry Howell, the Hall of Fame defenseman who has been witness to more than half a century of mayhem on ice.There have been fearsome wrecking machines in the past - most notably &lsquo;Bucko&rsquo; McDonald, &lsquo;Wild Bill&rsquo; Ezinicki, &lsquo;Bashin&rsquo; Bill Barilko, Leo Labine, Marcel Pronovost, Leo Boivin, Bob Baun, Denis Potvin, Larry Robinson, Cam Neely and Wendel Clark. And there are others in the present - most notably Eric Lindros and Rob Blake. But none has left as many casualties in his wake as Stevens.There were hitmen of savage reputation in the early days of the NHL.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021160/7569639-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="292" height="348"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Dryden Editor-In-Chief</figcaption></div>However, they didn&rsquo;t wreak the same havoc as Stevens within the boundaries of the rules. Sprague Cleghorn and Eddie Shore were menacing presences who struck fear in the hearts of men as much for their viciousness with the stick as their ability to bang bodies.&ldquo;(Stevens is) the most devastating I&rsquo;ve seen,&rdquo; said Hockey Night in Canada analyst Harry Neale. &ldquo;He hurts you and he doesn&rsquo;t hurt you by going after your knees; he doesn&rsquo;t elbow you in the head. You either get his shoulder right in your face or you get his shoulder right in your chest.&rdquo;In winning the Conn Smythe Trophy last year, Stevens became the first player to earn an honor - essentially - for bodychecking. Nobody else has won an NHL award - be it the Hart, Norris, Selke or Conn Smythe - first and foremost, because of an ability to set the tone of games with other-worldly body blasts.&ldquo;If I was playing hockey, I&rsquo;d like to have him on my side,&rdquo; said Ezinicki, who has long been regarded as the best hitter of hockey&rsquo;s Modern Era. Ezinicki, 77, won three Stanley Cups with Toronto during the 1940s. He was only 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, but the Winnipeg-born right winger earned his &lsquo;Wild Bill&rsquo; nickname with a fierce style that left opponents dazed and confused. &ldquo;He moved around like a little gorilla,&rdquo; said Al MacNeil, a gifted NHL hitter himself who would travel from Toronto to Buffalo in his youth just to see Ezinicki finish out his career - and checks - in the American League.Boivin, a Hall of Fame defenseman from the 1950s and &lsquo;60s, is also considered one of hockey&rsquo;s all-time great hitters. The 5-foot-8,183-pound defenseman was renowned for upending players with the best hip check of his era.&ldquo;Boivin&rsquo;s hits were more spectacular (than Stevens&rsquo;),&rdquo; Neale said, &ldquo;but the guys got up.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not the hip that puts you to the sleep,&rdquo; MacNeil said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the shoulder.&rdquo; Langkow, Lindros and Willis were catapulted into never-never land by Stevens and Francis could only wobble to the bench after colliding with the 6-foot-2, 215-pound New Jersey captain.While Francis and Langkow were hammered in north-meets-south collisions, Lindros and Willis both cut across the blueline and were stopped in their tracks in thundering east-meets-west collisions. Neale says players stuck to their lanes more frequently in the past, providing fewer chances for defensemen to prey upon wandering forwards.&ldquo;You wonder if Stevens, in the old days, would have the opportunities he has now when the guys get on that suicide highway,&rdquo; Neale said.Toronto forward Shayne Corson, whose Maple Leafs were expected to meet New Jersey in the second round of the playoffs, was asked if he has ever been clocked by Stevens.&ldquo;No, touch wood,&rdquo; he said, reaching down to tap a dressing room bench.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there is anybody better,&rdquo; Corson continued. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so solid. He&rsquo;s built like a Greek god and he times it so well. Robbie Blake&rsquo;s a pretty good openice hitter, but I don&rsquo;t know that he hits quite as hard as Scotty does.&rdquo;MacNeil summed it up.&ldquo;He has the ability to make the other club slower,&rdquo; MacNeil said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s intimidation through presence.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-02

NHL’s No. 1 hitter of all-time

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div>The Colorado Avalanche fulfilled almost every prediction by sweeping the outgunned and injury-depleted Vancouver Canucks in four straight games during the playoffs&rsquo; opening round.However, the Avs&rsquo; satisfaction at swatting aside Vancouver in the minimum should be tempered by the realization they did so very unconvincingly.The Canucks began the series minus their captain, leading goalscorer and leading point-getter in Markus Naslund, as well as their No. 1 center and top playmaker in Andrew Cassels.Then depth defenseman Scott Lachance sprained a knee in Game 2, first-string netminder Bob Essensa sprained a knee in Game 3 and remaining top center Brendan Morrison sprained an ankle in Game 4.If the injuries had gone the other way, imagine Colorado without Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Patrick Roy, Greg de Vries and Chris Drury.Yet despite this distinct advantage, the big-budget, star-studded Avalanche surrendered three leads in Game 1 before winning 5-4. They trailed 1-0 in Game 2 after 40 minutes before eking out a 2-1 victory and they never led at all in Game 3 before pulling off a 4-3 win in overtime.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011774/7569670-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="932" height="1411"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Forsberg and the Avs need to raise their level of play if they hope to go deep into the post-season. (BBS)</figcaption></div>Even in the series-clinching 51 Game 4 victory, with the Canucks dressing six rookies, the Avalanche did not take command until midway through the final period. Until that point, Colorado had never led by more than one goal at any juncture of the series.&ldquo;It was a battle,&rdquo; admitted Avalanche blueliner Ray Bourque. &ldquo;It was a very good test for us. You&rsquo;ve got to give the Canucks a lot of credit. They had a few of their key offensive weapons out and they made it real tough. They kept it tight. They didn&rsquo;t give us very much. We had to work for everything we got.&rdquo;The Avalanche received solid performances from the usual suspects - Sakic, Forsberg, Rob Blake, Drury, Milan Hejduk and Adam Foote were outstanding - but goalie Patrick Roy was ordinary throughout the series and made few remarkable saves.Entering the series, Roy had appeared in 196 career playoff games, compared to 227 for the entire Canuck roster. He was poor in Game 1 and mediocre in Game 3, but was bailed out both times by the potent Colorado offense, which always seemed to produce a big goal when it was needed.At times, Roy appeared like a man hiding an injury He did have a troublesome knee during the regular season homestretch and sat out a handful of games, saying the problem was tendinitis. His performance was an indication that perhaps his knee was still bothering him.&ldquo;It hurt my conditioning a bit,&rdquo; said Roy, conceding the knee had some bearing on his overall play. &ldquo;I was not happy about Game 1 and I thought I was OK in Game 3.&rdquo;On several of the Vancouver goals, he didn&rsquo;t move with his usual cat-like quickness and almost seemed rooted to the ice on Trent Klatt&rsquo;s score in Game 3, when Roy was unable to come across and take away a rebound opportunity. On another goal, by rookie Daniel Sedin, Roy uncharacteristically failed to freeze the puck at the side of the net.If Colorado hopes to roll merrily through to the final, they will need a better Roy.On the offensive side, Sakic was superb from his first shift in the first game to his last shift in Game 4. Drury scored some key goals, the winner in Game 1 and the go-ahead goal in Game 4, while Hejduk was also a constant threat.Forsberg began the series slowly and then asserted himself with the overtime tally in Game 3 and the winner again in Game 4.&ldquo;If you look at their lineup,&rdquo; sighed Canuck goalie Dan Cloutier, &ldquo;they&rsquo;ve got world-class players, all-star players and a couple of Hall of Famers. If you give them a chance to score, they will.&rdquo;Colorado used mainly three lines against Vancouver, but only two did the scoring until third-liner Eric Messier found the net late in Game 4. The Avalanche received nothing from their seldom-used fourth unit, which may be a problem in a longer series against a deeper opponent.It&rsquo;s a given Colorado will encounter a stronger, more experienced opponent in the second round, one with better defense, better penalty killing and one whose best players aren&rsquo;t sitting in the press box wearing casts.The Avalanche could not have been more fortunate than they were in the first round. The question is: Has their luck run out? &#9632;

f0012-01

Avalanche sweep far from convincing

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Rich Chere</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021073/7569746-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jump shot: Steve Heinze becomes a highflyer-for the moment.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011394/7569753-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="219" height="254"></div>When they made their Stanley Cup run last spring, the Devils kept a close watch on the surgically repaired knee of defenseman Vladimir Malakhov. This year their attention turned to Scott &lsquo;Knee-dermayer.&rsquo;Having undergone arthroscopic surgery on Feb. 9 to remove torn cartilage from his right knee, Niedermayer injured the same knee in the first round of the playoffs when he was hit by Carolina&rsquo;s Craig Adams in the third period of New Jersey&rsquo;s 32 overtime loss on April 18.&ldquo;I felt a little pain, but I was also frustrated that it was the same knee. A lot goes through your mind,&rdquo; Niedermayer said. &ldquo;This injury has nothing to do with cartilage. I move my knee and it&rsquo;s smooth. It&rsquo;s bruised.&rdquo;The Devils, who had veteran Ken Sutton ready to step in, weren&rsquo;t about to take any chances with Niedermayer. He had 35 points in 57 games after being an early season holdout.ANALYSIS Devils coach Larry Robinson gave his players a pretty good tongue-lashing after losing Game 4 of the series to the Hurricanes.He waited until the following morning before showing them the video and raising his voice to the point where it could be heard through the dressing room&rsquo;s cinderblock wall.The coach was angry about the foolish penalties the team took, cheating on offense and both players and coaches yap-ping at the referees.DEFENSE With back-to-back shutouts against the Hurricanes in the second and third games., Martin Brodeur tied Ken Dryden for seventh place on the all-time playoff shutout list at 10. Brodeur&rsquo;s scoreless streak reached 130 minutes, 33 seconds, but that fell short of his team record of 166:01, set in 1993-94.NOTEBOOK Right winger Turner Stevenson missed one game with blurred vision after he was butt-ended below the left eye by Carolina&rsquo;s huge defenseman Marek Malik in Game 3:. Albany (AHL) assistant coach Bobby Carpenter, who was an assistant for the Devils during last year&rsquo;s successful playoff run, was brought in to keep the taxi squad of extra players ready for action, in case they&rsquo;re needed, and to offer expert advice on faceoffs. &#9632;

f0017-02

Niedermayer gets best medical care

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Luke DeCock</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03766/7569784-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="218" height="229"></div>When the Carolina Hurricanes stormed off the bench after Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour&rsquo;s overtime winner, Brind&rsquo;Amour ended up at the bottom of the pile along the boards.That&rsquo;s no coincidence, because Brind&rsquo;Amour carried the team to a pride-salvaging Game 4 win over the New Jersey Devils largely on his shoulders. With Ron Francis and Shane Willis-19 per cent of the &lsquo;Canes&rsquo; regular season goal-scoring - out with concussions, Brind&rsquo;Amour figured in two of the Hurricanes&rsquo; three goals, played almost 25 minutes and won 21 of 29 faceoffs.A Brind&rsquo;Amour shot rebounded right to Sami Kapanen for Carolina&rsquo;s first goal, giving the &lsquo;Canes their first lead of the series, and he streaked down the slot to tip a shot from Kapanen through Martin Brodeur&rsquo;s legs for the game-winner.Brind&rsquo;Amour had been quiet earlier in the series, winning an uncharacteristically-low 49.5 per cent of his faceoffs. But in the absence of Francis and Willis, he came to life.&ldquo;The guy&rsquo;s a warrior,&rdquo; said teammate Jeff O&rsquo;Neill. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an awesome athlete and and awesome player.&rdquo;The 30-year-old Brind&rsquo;Amour will be a restricted free agent this summer.-ANALYSIS In many ways, the Hurricanes&rsquo; first-round series against the Devils was a valuable lesson for a young team with a half-dozen players experiencing the playoffs for the first time.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re probably the blueprint for every NHL team to achieve,&rdquo; said Rob DiMaio. &ldquo;They have skill, size and very good goaltending.&rdquo;DEFENSE Arturs Irbe may not have repeated his feat of 1994, when he led the Sharks to their shocking first-round upset of Detroit, but he showed he&rsquo;s still dangerous. Irbe gave up three late goals in Game 1 to inflate his stats, but there was no question he did his part and played well enough to give the Hurricanes a chance to win.NOTEBOOK Center Ron Francis had played in every playoff game until missing Game 4 with a concussion caused by New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens&rsquo; hit along the boards early in Game 3&hellip;Carolina did not sell out either of the first-ever playoff games in Raleigh. The attendance for Game 3 was 17,525 while 14,339 came out for Game 4. The Entertainment and Sports Arena&rsquo;s capacity is 18,730. &#9632;

f0017-03

Brind’Amour shines when needed most

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Bruce Garrioch</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04561/7569815-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="215" height="254"></div>In a season they were expected to challenge for the Stanley Cup, the Senators found themselves playing the role of spectators after being knocked out of the &lsquo;Battle of Ontario&rsquo; in four straight games by the Toronto Maple Leafs.After three straight first round exits, coach Jacques Martin&rsquo;s job is in jeopardy and it appears star center Alexei Yashin has played his final game in an Ottawa uniform, after having no success in the post-season.Martin has a contract extension that will pay him $750,000 U. S. next year, and sources say the Senators may not fire him, but rather, trade him to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Ducks&rsquo; president Pierre Gauthier is looking for a new coach.ANALYSIS Roster changes are certain to be made and the most interesting player to watch will be Yashin.He has only two points in his last eight playoff games, but as an unrestricted free agent this summer he will be seeking a huge raise from the $3.6 million (U.S.), he made this season. Does he want to be in Ottawa?&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; Yashin said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to discuss this subject.&rdquo;DEFENSE Defenseman Wade Redden told reporters he was to blame for what happened because he didn&rsquo;t play up to his potential.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t point the finger at other people. I have to blame myself because I didn&rsquo;t get the (bleeping) job done,&rdquo; Redden said.&ldquo;I could have been better and I feel bad because we&rsquo;re not going to get another chance.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Team captain Daniel Alfredsson will play for Sweden and defenseman Wade Redden for Canada at the World Championship in Germany, beginning April 28. &#9632;

f0017-04

Shakeup in Ottawa could touch coach

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Paul Hunter</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06304/7569846-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="676" height="1132"><figcaption class="caption-body">GOOD TIMING Defenseman Cory Cross, right, scored his first career playoff goal in overtime of Game 3 in Toronto&rsquo;s series against Ottawa.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05391/7569853-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="216" height="255"></div>Relying on a previously absent dedication to team defense and discipline, and backed by the near-flawless goaltending of Curtis Joseph, the Maple Leafs swept their first round playoff series from an Ottawa squad it finished 19 points behind. The Senators won all five regular season meetings between the teams.&ldquo;If someone said we would win in four straight, I probably would not have believed it,&rdquo; said captain Mats Sundin.The Leafs, looking stronger in each game, outscored the Sens 10-3 in the four games. That after a season in which the dressing often seemed fractured as players became distracted by personal agendas or skated without regard for the overall game plan.&ldquo;We cared about winning hockey games and nothing else,&rdquo; said veteran Shayne Corson of the attitude adjustment.ANALYSIS One of the keys to Toronto&rsquo;s success was a surprising tactical move by coach Pat Quinn. Though he usually is reluctant to match lines, Quinn had Corson shadow talented Ottawa center Alexei Yashin. And Corson, a friend of Yashin&rsquo;s off the ice, responded with a brilliant checking job, limiting the 40-goal scorer to one assist in the series.DEFENSE Joseph was a little more than three minutes away from tying the NHL record of three consecutive shutouts in the playoffs when Marian Hossa beat him at 16:51 of the third period in Game 3. The three goals Joseph allowed in the series was just one off the record for fewest goals allowed in a four-game series.NOTEBOOK It was the first time in NHL history a team has swept an opponent in a best-of-seven series after being swept by that team in the regular - season&hellip;Defenseman Dave Manson, signed as an unrestricted free agent to make Toronto tougher, was a healthy scratch in the first round. &#9632;

f0017-06

Leafs show heart in sweep of Sens

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011433/7569884-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="220" height="260"></div>While he was growing up in the Washington suburbs, Jeff Halpern was a Capitals fan and as such, he learned to have a strong dislike for the Penguins, who yearly heaped indignities on his team. All of that makes revenge very sweet.Halpern and his linemates, Steve Konowalchuk and Ulf Dahlen, drew the tough assignment of having to defend the Mario Lemieux-Jaromir Jagr-Jan Hrdina line in the first round. It&rsquo;s an exercise that can be exhausting, exhilarating, frustrating&hellip;and rewarding.Halpern got the overtime goal and his linemates the assists in Game 4 as the Caps came back to earn a split of the first four games. Halpern had entered the game without a single shot in the series.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what it is, maybe growing up in Washington and seeing enough of these guys his whole life, but the last two years he has played unbelievable against Pittsburgh,&rdquo; Konowalchuk said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an unbelievable competitor and for the playoffs he raises it to another level.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Look for the Capitals to try and get some offensive help during the offseason. A decent power play has been the Caps&rsquo; meal ticket on offense, but the time has come to jump to the next level and ease the strain and stress on the defense.The Caps&rsquo; first five post-season goals against Pittsburgh were all on the power play, but at one point there was a gap of 118:24 between Capitals&rsquo; goals. The Caps&rsquo; sixth goal, 4:01 into overtime of Game 4, was the team&rsquo;s first even-strength score of the post-season and first since the third period of the last game of the regular season, a span of 263:29.Owner Ted Leonsis does not appear to be a guy who enjoys standing pat, so it&rsquo;s logical to expect aggressive pursuit of players who can score.OFFENSE Ken Klee, normally a defenseman, was being used a right winger on the fourth line. Coach Ron Wilson likes the speed and hitting factors Klee brings every night. He also likes the fact that if someone gets hurt or there is an untimely penalty, Klee is available to move back.NOTEBOOK Struggling center Adam Oates (no points in four games) saw just 8:28 of ice time in Game 4 against the Penguins. &#9632;

f0018-01

Hometown kid Halpern gets revenge on Pens

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Joe Starkey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021078/7569915-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="220" height="256"></div>For the first time in three years, the Penguins sold out their home playoff opener. They sold out their second playoff game, too, giving them 26 consecutive sellouts since Mario Lemieux came out of retirement Dec. 27.&ldquo;The real impact of Mario will be felt next year,&rdquo; said Penguins vicepresident of marketing and communications, Tom McMillan. &ldquo;We had played 40 per cent of our home games when he came back.&rdquo;As of Game 4 of their first round playoff series against Washington, the Penguins had sold 12,000 playoff packages, compared to 8,000 at the same time last year. That bodes well for next season.&ldquo;Playoff sales are usually a portend for season-ticket sales,&rdquo; said Penguins vice-president of ticket sales, Mark Anderson, who added that the team is fielding an unusually high number of deposits for season-ticket packages this time of year.ANALYSIS The Penguins&rsquo; penalty-kill was one of the NHL&rsquo;s worst in the regular season and continued to hurt the team in its first round series against Washington. The Caps scored five power play goals in the first four games, including three in a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 4 that evened the series at two games apiece. The Penguins&rsquo; defensemen were having trouble moving Washington&rsquo;s forwards from the front of the net.DEFENSE Ian Moran played a pair of solid games on defense to open the series, but was switched to fourth line center for Games 3 and 4 when Hans Jonsson returned from an elbow infection. Moran is prepared for whatever role the team wants him to play. The fourth line of Moran, Krzysztof Oliwa and Rene Corbet was effective in Game 4.&ldquo;Whatever they want me to do, I&rsquo;m more than willing,&rdquo; Moran said.NOTEBOOK Capitals&rsquo; owner and AOL/Time-Warner magnate Ted Leonsis wrote a computer program preventing Penguins&rsquo; fans from buying tickets on the Caps&rsquo; web site. &ldquo;Pretty cool, isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; Leonsis told the Washington Post. &ldquo;I got a lot of e-mails from Pittsburgh saying I was mean-spirited and unfair. I don&rsquo;t care. I&rsquo;m going to keep doing it.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0018-02

Playoff payoff for Pens thanks to Lemieux return

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03763/7569946-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="220" height="239"></div>There&rsquo;s no truth to the rumor Simon Gagne and Mark Recchi sent a limo and flowers for Keith Primeau&rsquo;s half-mile trip from the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; team hotel to HSBC Arena the night of his scheduled return.At least not the flowers.But the two snipers would have been excused had they given Primeau the red carpet treatment April 16. That was the night he returned from three weeks off from a sprained left knee to play in Game 3 against the Buffalo Sabres.With Primeau back in the lineup, both Gagne and Recchi broke out of lengthy scoring slumps. Gagne, goal-less in nine games, scored goals in the next three straight. Without Primeau, the Flyers were 0-2 versus the Sabres. With him, 2-1.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve tried to work harder with Keith back in the lineup,&rdquo; Gagne said. &ldquo;He means a lot to this team.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Coach Bill Barber decided to move Recchi back to the point on the power play for Game 5 and the move paid dividends. Recchi scored the winner on a blast from the top of the slot in a 3-1 victory to cut Buffalo&rsquo;s lead to 3-2. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m comfortable back there and it gives us a chance to get Johnny (LeClair) in front of the net and Keith (Primeau) can roam around and do things,&rdquo; Recchi said.DEFENSE Barber solved the dilemma over which player to suit up as his sixth defenseman for Game 5 by not dressing one at all. He went with 13 forwards instead. P. J. Stock played in his first NHL playoff game as the extra man. Andy Delmore and Chris McAllister both had trouble with turnovers early in the series. Barber said he wanted Stock handy in case Rick Tocchet (back) or Keith Primeau (knee) experienced any difficulties during the game.NOTEBOOK Although coach Bill Barber never officially signed a new contract when he took the job Dec. 10, the Flyers say something will be finalized soon. &ldquo;I will be back,&rdquo; Barber said. GM Bob Clarke said: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the reason we&rsquo;re here.&rdquo; Barber took over a 12-12-4 team and pushed it to 43-25-11-3 overall&hellip;The Flyers&rsquo; 3-1 win in Game 5 April 29 was their first in an elimination game since 1989. Since then, the Flyers had gone 0-7 in elimination games. &#9632;

f0018-03

Gagne, Recchi energized with Primeau back in fold

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Bucky Gleason</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04493/7569977-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="221" height="257"></div>The Buffalo Sabres are seeing Chris Gratton develop into the player the Philadelphia Flyers wanted three years ago when GM Bob Clarke handed him a $9-million signing bonus.The Sabres reaped the benefits in the first round of the playoffs against those very Flyers, who gave up on Gratton and shipped him back to Tampa Bay in 1999.Gratton, 25, was dominant against his former team, scoring three goals and setting up two others in five games.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s special at all,&rdquo; Gratton said. &ldquo;Just to be in the playoffs and get a chance to play in this atmosphere, it&rsquo;s phenomenal. I&rsquo;m having a lot of fun.&rdquo;The Sabres traded for Gratton before the deadline last season, but inconsistency accompanied him to Buffalo. Now he&rsquo;s stepping up at a critical time.&ldquo;I think Chris&hellip;I guess you can use the word - has matured,&rdquo; said Sabres&rsquo; coach Lindy Ruff.ANALYSIS The Sabres scored only two goals in four games on Philadelphia&rsquo;s Roman Cechmanek during the regular season, but they had 12 through the first four games in taking a 3-1 series lead. The night before Game 1, Ruff showed his team a video outlining Cechmanek&rsquo;s weak spots. The Sabres beat Cechmanek between the legs five times on their first eight goals before going to his glove side twice in Game 4, which included center Curtis Brown&rsquo;s winner in overtime.DEFENSE Ruff was leaning toward playing veteran blueliner Jason Woolley in Game 1, but he instead went with Dmitri Kalinin, staying with the rookie through the first five games. Kalinin, 20, is a better two-way player and played well while paired with Richard Smehlik.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Jay McKee&rsquo;s overtime goal in Game 2 marked the first time he had scored in the postseason&hellip;Left winger Erik Rasmussen missed the third, fourth and fifth games with a slightly separated shoulder. Vladimir Tsyplakov played in his place&hellip;Right winger Rob Ray played a total of 2:23 in the first two games before Ruff inserted Maxim Afinogenov for the first two games at home. Afinogenov struggled on the road in each of his first two NHL seasons. &#9632;

f0018-04

Gratton comes through against former mates

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Jim Benton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03598/7570008-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="652" height="1048"><figcaption class="caption-body">LONG TIME COMING Rob Blake snapped a personal 12-game playoff losing streak that stretched back to 1993 as Colorado swept the Canucks. (BBS)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011219/7570015-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="220" height="248"></div>The Colorado Avalanche notched a series sweep for only the second time in franchise history when the it polished off the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference quarterfinal.It was the first time the franchise had won a playoff series in four games since 1996, when the Avalanche beat the Florida Panthers in four games in the Cup final.Colorado seem to lack the intensity that marked its play during the regular season when it secured the President&rsquo;s Trophy, but the Avalanche showed discipline and got timely and key efforts from its superstars to end things quickly.After earning one-goal decisions the first three games, the Avalanche had only a 1-0 lead in Game 4 before finally erupting for a franchise playoff record three goals in 38 seconds en route to a 5-1 triumph that ended the series.ANALYSIS Despite the sweep, coach Bob Hartley still shortened his bench, which might have hurt the Avalanche had they played a deeper team than the Canucks. Colorado relied on two lines and, for the most part, played only three lines. The fourth line rarely played.DEFENSE Vancouver averaged 1.44 goals per game in the last nine contests of the regular season and only scored more than two goals in one of those games. However, the Avalanche gave up four goals in Game 1 and three goals in Game 3 to the Canucks, who played minus top scorers Markus Naslund and Andrew Cassels.NOTEBOOK A strained back kept defenseman Ray Bourque out of the first two games of the series, but when he played in Game 3 it marked his 21st appearance in the NHL playoffs, surpassing Larry Robinson and Gordie Howe for most years in the post season. &#9632;

f0020-03

Avs make short work of short-staffed Canucks

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02855/7570046-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="217" height="256"></div>The Vancouver Canucks spilled all the sweat and guts in their bodies against Colorado, but in the end, the disparity in talent was too great for them to overcome in their first-round series with the Avalanche.Vancouver entered the series without top goal scorer and captain Markus Naslund and top playmaking center Andrew Cassels. The Canucks then lost fourth defenseman Scott Lachance in Game 2, top goalie Bob Essensa in Game 3 and key center Brendan Morrison in the final period of Game 4.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m proud of everyone on this team, everyone gave it their all,&rdquo; said hulking winger Todd Bertuzzi, who had four points in the four-game sweep. &ldquo;We cared, we worked hard, we tried, we clawed. They had a lot of firepower and we did everything we could. I&rsquo;m choked (up) right now. Unless you&rsquo;re in this stall, you can&rsquo;t understand what it&rsquo;s like.&rdquo;ANALYSIS With the injury in Game 2 to Scott Lachance, the Canucks summoned 20-year-old Bryan Allen to take his spot. Allen, a first-year pro, had just six NHL games under his belt, but was outstanding against the Avalanche.OFFENSE Twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin, who were inconsistent during the regular season, had a wonderful playoff and thrived on the added ice time provided them due to the Naslund and Cassels injuries. Henrik finished with four assists in four games while Daniel had one goal and two assists.NOTEBOOK Stay-at-home defenseman Murray Baron is the Canucks&rsquo; only impending unrestricted free agent&hellip;For their final playoff game, the Canucks dressed six players who had spent some time in the minors during this past season. &#9632;

f0020-02

Canucks refused to wilt despite injuries to stars

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Nick Cotsonika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04394/7570077-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="230" height="254"></div>After Game 1 of their first-round series with Los Angeles, the Detroit Red Wings were without two of their top players, captain Steve Yzerman and power forward Brendan Shanahan.Yzerman played 5:58 of the first period then left the game. He said he had a broken left index finger and an injured lower left leg. Coach Scotty Bowman said Yzerman had a sprained ankle; published reports quoting anonymous sources insisted Yzerman had a broken ankle.Shanahan blocked a shot midway through the third period. He finished the game, in which he had two goals and an assist. &ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t really bother me that much,&rdquo; Shanahan said. &ldquo;But when I woke up (the next) morning, I knew there was probably something wrong with it.&rdquo;Indeed, it was broken. While Yzerman hoped to return sometime in the first round, Shanahan was more vague. &ldquo;I still feel I&rsquo;ll be back,&rdquo; Shanahan said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough to be out like this, but I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s the end of the playoffs for me.&rdquo;ANALYSIS When Shanahan and Yzerman went down, Bowman promised to go with a four-line rotation. And he did. Sort of. He dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen, including Chris Chelios, who played with a cast on the left thumb he broke March 17. Bowman double-shifted center Sergei Fedorov and put out a dizzying array of line combinations. &ldquo;We have a lot of depth,&rdquo; Bowman said, &ldquo;But we have to see how these other guys are going to do.&rdquo;OFFENSE The Wings&rsquo; power play continued to sizzle against the Kings. In their first-round sweep of L.A. last year, the Wings went 7-for-16 in Games 2 through 4. In the first four games this year, the Wings were 8-for-22, and they scored another goal two seconds after an L.A. penalty expired.NOTEBOOK After taking Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, the Wings dropped Games 3 and 4 in L.A. How they dropped Game 4 was shocking, as they blew a 3-0 lead with less than six minutes left in the third period, allowing the Kings to win 2:36 into overtime. &ldquo;All the guys are disappointed, and they should be,&rdquo; said forward Martin Lapointe. &#9632;

f0020-04

Wings must fly without hurt Yzerman, Shanahan

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Chuck Carlton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01978/7570139-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="243" height="247"></div>The 2001 playoffs have budding new cult heroes.They&rsquo;re called the Grumpy Old Men, an unwanted nickname that has stuck despite their best efforts. A Few Good Men might be more accurate. Whatever they&rsquo;re called, Kirk Muller, Mike Keane and John MacLean have been exactly what the Stars needed in their first-round series with the Edmonton Oilers.They&rsquo;ve checked Doug Weight&rsquo;s line well enough to spell Mike Modano from his usual chores. Through five games, they combined for four goals and 10 points, including Muller&rsquo;s overtime winner in Game 5 for a 3-2 series lead.Not bad for three castoffs with 48 years in the NHL combined. Keane was traded by the New York Rangers less than a year after signing a free-agent contract in 1998. Muller was let go by Florida and MacLean was exiled to the IHL by the Rangers before being picked up by the Stars.&ldquo;I think their role on the team is leaders,&rdquo; said Stars&rsquo; coach Ken Hitchcock. &ldquo;They get very offended when people tell them they are old and they can&rsquo;t compete. This is their time of year and they love it.&ldquo;This is what they all wait for. When you have a 35 or 36-year-old player, it&rsquo;s sometimes hard to get rolling. They have no problem right now.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Center Joe Nieuwendyk&rsquo;s sprained knee forced the Stars to adjust and play Mike Modano in more and different ways. Modano&rsquo;s penalty-killing minutes have been cut, but his overall minutes have soared in the playoffs. He&rsquo;s averaged almost 30 minutes a game, tops among forwards on all teams.&ldquo;What probably magnifies it is, without Nieuwendyk, they can focus on one player,&rdquo; said Hitchcock.DEFENSE In their series with the Oilers, the Stars displayed a remarkably airtight defense yet a nagging tendency to self-destruct in the third period. They allowed the Oilers 10 shots in building a 2-0 lead after two periods in Game 3, before Edmonton tied the game with two goals in 63 seconds. In a pivotal Game 5, the Oilers managed just five shots in two periods, but scored three goals in 3:07 of the third to erase a two-goal lead. The Stars won both games in overtime.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Richard Matvichuk got a concussion for his trouble; all Edmonton center Doug Weight got was a major and a game misconduct for a Game 4 check from behind. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to get into a war of words,&rdquo; Matvichuk said. &ldquo;I think the hit talks for itself and I&rsquo;m not going to get into that. I&rsquo;m worried about myself and playing.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0021-01

Stars’ Grumpy Old Men turn back clock, play like enthusiastic kids against Oilers

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Rob Tychkowski</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02592/7570170-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="222" height="244"></div>The Dallas Stars were hoping the long arm of the NHL law would tap Doug Weight on the shoulder before Game 5 of their playoff series.It didn&rsquo;t happen. Despite the Stars&rsquo; call for supplementary discipline, Weight was not suspended for a hit from behind that knocked defenseman Richard Matvichuk unconscious early in Game 4.Weight crushed an unsuspecting Matvichuk into the side boards and received a five-minute major and automatic game misconduct. Matvichuk suffered a concussion and had to be helped off the ice.Weight said it wasn&rsquo;t intentional.&ldquo;I thought he was going to turn into me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I stopped my momentum as much as I could, but I kind of followed through and unfortunately his helmet comes off and he goes into the boards on the side.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like I lined him up and he was looking at the boards. It&rsquo;s just a thing that happened quickly.&rdquo;Coach Craig MacTavish was quick to defend his captain.&ldquo;The Dallas Stars&rsquo; players know what type of player Dougie is, he&rsquo;s not a dirty player,&rdquo; MacTavish said. &ldquo;That hit is not indicative of the way he wants to see the game played. It was an accident in my mind. He thought Matvichuk was going to turn to protect himself.&ldquo;If there&rsquo;s a guy in the league with a better reputation than Doug Weight I don&rsquo;t know who it is.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Tough guy Georges Laraque took another big step in his development as a player with a fantastic series against Dallas. Laraque played 18 minutes in Game 3 and had a goal, two assists and was plus-two in the first five games of the series. He spent a lot of time on the first line with Weight and Ryan Smyth and was a dominant physical presence without taking any stupid penalties.OFFENSE Josh Green returned to the lineup in Game 3 of the series with Dallas for his first game in 13 months. Green missed the entire regular season after undergoing surgery on both shoulders (he injured the left one in training camp and the right one while on a three-game minor league conditioning stint in February). Green played in place of injured winger Ethan Moreau (foot).NOTEBOOK Defenseman Jason Smith hardly missed a shift after being hit in the face with the puck in Game 3 against Dallas. Eight quick stitches (four in the upper lip, four in the lower) behind the Oilers&rsquo; bench and Smith was right back out there. Smith wanted to return earlier, but rules are rules. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t go out there bleeding all over the ice,&rdquo; he said. &#9632;

f0021-02

Weight escapes supplemental punishment for scary hit from behind on Matvichuk

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Tom Wheatley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011098/7570201-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="218" height="250"></div>Rookie defenseman Bryce Salvador began his NHL career this year with 75 games. He scored twice.It took him only five more games to log his first playoff goal. And it was a doozy.Salvador, 25, drilled a shot from the point past fellow rookie Miikka Kiprusoff at 9:54 of overtime to give the Blues a 3-2 victory and a 3-2 series lead over the San Jose Sharks.Pierre Turgeon had beaten Mike Ricci on the draw and the puck went directly to Salvador. He had taken just three shots in the first four games - and only 60 in the regular season - but figured out quickly what to do.&ldquo;I looked up and saw an open lane,&rdquo; Salvador said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;Holy cow, get this thing on the net.&rdquo;He did so with a shot that reached 100 mph at the Blues&rsquo; Skills Competition last fall. That won the &ldquo;second-fastest&rdquo; shot event, so dubbed because perennial champ Al MacInnis sat out that day.Salvador was MacInnis&rsquo; partner all season. But the rookie left defenseman started the playoffs alongside veteran Sean Hill, with MacInnis teaming with another rookie, Sasha Khavanov. Coach Joel Quenneville reformed the MacInnis-Salvador unit for Game 5. And while the pair was on for San Jose&rsquo;s go-ahead goal by Patrick Marleau midway through the second period, Salvador more than made up for it 40 minutes later.&ldquo;I won&rsquo;t forget this one,&rdquo; Salvador promised. &ldquo;Ever.&rdquo;OFFENSE The Blues were being lifted along by the big line of center Pierre Turgeon between Dallas Drake and Scott Young. They had scored eight of the team&rsquo;s 14 goals through five games against San Jose. Drake led the team with four, while Young and Turgeon were tied for second with two apiece.ANALYSIS The Blues had scored only three goals in a five-period span against a San Jose defense that started a sophomore (Brad Stuart) and two freshmen (Scott Hannan and Shawn Heins) in front of a rookie relief goalie (Miikka Kiprusoff). Trailing 2-1 at the second intermission of Game 5, mild-mannered coach Joel Quenneville had seen enough. He took his team to task.&ldquo;We had to pick up our game,&rdquo; said left winger Keith Tkachuk. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t mess around with the puck in the neutral zone. They were sitting back and we forced them. We forced them to make turnovers.&rdquo;The sudden pressure led to Drake&rsquo;s game-tying goal with just under three minutes left in regulation.&ldquo;We played terrible in the second period,&rdquo; Drake said. &ldquo;So Joel came in here and ripped a strip off us a little bit and we responded.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Prior to the San Jose series, St. Louis had lost nine consecutive series that had been tied 2-2&hellip;Defenseman Jeff Finley (concussion) had missed 14 games and counting with no return in sight&hellip;Coach Joel Quenneville used the exact same lineup for the first five games. &#9632;

f0022-01

Hard-shooting freshman Salvador finds salvation with OT blast

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Ross McKeon</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03569/7570232-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="754" height="748"><figcaption class="caption-body">ON FIRE It took Scott Thornton just four games against St. Louis to match his career output of three goals in 38 playoff contests. (BBS)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02782/7570239-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="220" height="262"></div>Rookie Miikka Kiprusoff further verified San Jose&rsquo;s wealth of goaltending depth by stepping smackdab into the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs for injured starter Evgeni Nabokov and shining for the Sharks.With just one regular-season start to his credit, Kiprusoff found himself starting Game 4 of San Jose&rsquo;s first round series against St. Louis. Thirty-nine saves later, Kiprusoff and the Sharks were 3-2 winners. Two nights later, Kiprusoff stopped 35 of 38 shots, only to surrender an overtime goal in a 3-2 loss.&ldquo;We knew he was quick and very agile, but to come in the playoffs and stop that many pucks is amazing,&rdquo; said center Vincent Damphousse.It has been a long and winding road to the NHL for the 24-year-old Kiprusoff, whom the Sharks drafted 116th overall in 1995. He got his big league break late this season when the Sharks traded away goalie Steve Shields in the Teemu Selanne deal. The trade was a reunification of sorts for countrymen Kiprusoff and Selanne - the two played together at the World Championship two years ago in Norway.&ldquo;I knew if he kept working hard he was going to be a great goalie,&rdquo; Selanne said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so special because he&rsquo;s never nervous. I love those kinds of goalies. They don&rsquo;t do anything extra, they&rsquo;re just so calm.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Injuries - and the lack of depth to overcome them - was a big reason why the Sharks were on the brink of elimination in the first round against St. Louis. San Jose has a number of good prospects, but there&rsquo;s a significant gap between where the prospects on defense and at forward need to be to fill in at the NHL level. Building more depth in the organization must be a priority this off-season.DEFENSE Because of injuries to Marcus Ragnarsson (shoulder), Bryan Marchment (knee) and Gary Suter (concussion), the Sharks had used nine defensemen through five games, including rookies Shawn Heins and Scott Hannan. Ragnarsson returned for Game 5.NOTEBOOK Right winger Tony Granato is the team&rsquo;s candidate for the King Clancy Trophy. Granato has been nominated three times by teammates for the honor awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community. &#9632;

f0022-03

Cool rookie goaltender Kiprusoff gets hot when needed for Sharks

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04393/7570270-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="220" height="251"></div>As they began a second consecutive off-season that will be far too lengthy, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are farther away from Stanley Cup playoff contention than ever.In the wake of a 25-41-11-5 record that left them last in the NHL&rsquo;s Western Conference, the Ducks face the prospect of needing a 25-point jump in the standings to climb into the playoff race next season. GM Pierre Gauthier, who does not exactly boast a glowing track record in his three seasons calling the shots in Anaheim, maintains the club is capable of doing exactly that.Gauthier, who ushered in what he called &ldquo;a new era&rdquo; with the March 5 trade of right winger Teemu Selanne to San Jose and the waiving of original Ducks goaltender Guy Hebert, promised to explore every avenue to upgrade the team. Don&rsquo;t expect a headline free-agent signing to be among them, however.&ldquo;Major free agency benefits clubs near the top and ready to take the next step,&rdquo; Gauthier said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re probably not there yet. When I first came here, there were a lot of things in place that we tried to make work. It was time to turn this thing around. We had a formula with some people left from the expansion process, particularly with the goaltending, and we had a formula with two star players, and half the payroll on two players. We&rsquo;re changing the formula.&rdquo;With Selanne gone, in a deal that fetched left winger Jeff Friesen and goalie Steve Shields, captain Paul Kariya is now Anaheim&rsquo;s undisputed centerpiece. The combination of Shields and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who looked strong starting 24 of this season&rsquo;s final 25 games, figures to provide a significant upgrade over Hebert, whose performance had slipped dramatically since the middle of last season.COACH&rsquo;S STATUS With the announcement only one day after the season ended that Guy Charron would not return as coach next season, it is open season for speculation on who will replace him. Gauthier is keeping his thoughts to himself.As GM in Ottawa, Gauthier hired Jacques Martin to coach the Senators in 1996. Martin signed a contract extension this season, but is under increasing scrutiny in Ottawa. In the event that Martin should become available, Gauthier would likely jump at the chance to hire him.Informed speculation has former Montreal coach Alain Vigneault and Colorado assistant coach Bryan Trottier as two strong candidates.NOTEBOOK Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere joined teammate Jeff Friesen, a left winger, on Team Canada&rsquo;s entry for the World Championship in Germany. Giguere accepted an invitation April 13 to be Canada&rsquo;s third goaltender behind Calgary&rsquo;s Fred Brathwaite and Florida&rsquo;s Roberto Luongo&hellip;The World Championships appearance will be the fourth for Friesen, who also played in 1996,1997 and 1999. &#9632;

f0022-04

Ducks miles away from playoffs, at least they’re set between pipes

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Jeff Schultz</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01990/7570301-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="220" height="252"></div>For the first time in their three-year history, the Atlanta Thrashers have won the NHL&rsquo;s draft lottery. Now the question is whether they keep the top pick.Thrashers&rsquo; GM Don Waddell, who called winning the lottery &ldquo;the biggest thing to happen to this franchise,&rdquo; acknowledged he is open to trading the selection - more likely trading down in the first round than dealing the selection flat-out. But he says he will do so, only if a goalie is included in the deal.Two seasons of injuries and erratic performance by Damian Rhodes, along with the failure of any other goalie in the organization to show the stability or immediate potential to be a starter, have made improving the goaltending a top priority for the Thrashers this summer.The Thrashers also want to add a goal-scorer and a center who can win faceoffs, but those needs are easier to fill in free agency.Colorado&rsquo;s Patrick Roy is the only goaltender of note who will be an unrestricted free agent, and he&rsquo;s unlikely to come to Atlanta. But Waddell received calls from two general managers immediately after the team won Tuesday&rsquo;s lottery and he expects &ldquo;six or seven&rdquo; teams that have goaltending depth to be interested in the pick.Among the teams that might be interested in moving a goaltender: Philadelphia (Brian Boucher will be available), Buffalo (Martin Biron and prospect Mika Nor-onen both are behind Dominik Hasek), Montreal (Jose Theodore, Jeff Hackett, Mathieu Garon), Los Angeles (Jamie Storr, Stephane Fiset), Nashville (Mike Dunham, Tomas Vokoun), Tampa Bay (Kevin Weekes is expendable following the acquisition of Nikolai Khab-ibulin) and Anaheim (Steve Shields was acquired from San Jose but may be available).COACH&rsquo;S STATUS Curt Fraser will be entering the final year of his contract next season but Waddell will talk with him about an extension this summer. The same can&rsquo;t be said for assistants Jay Leach and George Kingston, both of whom were let go. Whereas Fraser originally signed a three-year contract, Leach and Kingston had only two-year deals.&ldquo;I tried to help groom these players and I did the best I could,&rdquo; Leach said. &ldquo;Unfortunately, when you lose 106 games [in two seasons], changes are going to be made. But I&rsquo;ll survive.&rdquo;Kingston said he will coach in Europe if he cannot land a job in North America.NOTEBOOK GM Don Waddell, who is serving in the same capacity for the U.S. team at the World Championship, bypassed goalie Damian Rhodes in his player selections. Waddell said Rhodes wanted to play and would have been selected, except that he felt it was better for the goalie to take the entire off-season to let nagging injuries heal. &ldquo;We felt for him to go there he might be OK, but we need him to worry about Atlanta - this is our priority,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;He would&rsquo;ve been on the [U.S.] team if we had allowed him to play.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0023-01

Waddell prepared to deal top pick if he can acquire solid goaltender

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Nancy Marrapese-Burrell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02664/7570332-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="223" height="258"></div>The Bruins may need to shop for goaltending help this off-season, unless medical reports re-garding first-stringer Byron Dafoe&rsquo;s health are positive.Dafoe missed 36 games because of three injuries and was scheduled to have a seventh surgical procedure on his balky right knee.&ldquo;No question having a goalie with some cranky injuries that seem to flare up is definitely a concern of ours,&rdquo; said GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell. &ldquo;And having a goaltender [John Grahame] that missed half the year that you expected to be your second goalie and possibly your goaltender of the future, it really set us back.&rdquo;On the other hand, Dafoe said he believes he can play 60-70 games next season and that the joint, which needed to have some floating cartilage removed, won&rsquo;t continue to be a problem.&ldquo;I understand why they&rsquo;d be concerned,&rdquo; Dafoe said. &ldquo;My answer to that is I&rsquo;m going to do everything possible to take the next four or five months and get in the best shape of my life. This is obviously very important to the Boston Bruins and this is important in my career. I&rsquo;m 30 years old and I don&rsquo;t want to have to hang them up after this season.&rdquo;Dafoe said there&rsquo;s no reason he can&rsquo;t get back to the performance level he was at two years ago when he was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s best goaltender.COACH&rsquo;S STATUS O&rsquo;Connell said the club is in no hurry to name a new coach after letting Mike Keenan go, but he did say assistant Peter Laviolette is the frontrunner to succeed Keenan.Laviolette said he believes he&rsquo;s ready to be a head coach.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard being an assistant coach when you know deep down you want to be a head coach,&rdquo; he said.If he doesn&rsquo;t get the job, Laviolette is likely to seek other opportunities.&ldquo;I have a window in my contract that allows me to pursue other NHL head coaching jobs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Mike has always said if I wasn&rsquo;t the guy and there were other NHL jobs available, he would never hold me back.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Left winger Sergei Samsonov, who played the last month of the season with a hip/groin ailment, is likely going to need surgery to repair a cartilage tear. But Boston-based attorney Neil Abbott, who represents Samsonov, said it isn&rsquo;t considered serious and he&rsquo;ll be ready in time for training camp. &ldquo;To our knowledge, there wasn&rsquo;t one particular hit,&rdquo; Abbott said. &ldquo;It just became an area of soreness that he had. He continued to play and it wasn&rsquo;t really hurting him too terribly, but it wasn&rsquo;t getting better so we had it checked out.&rdquo;&hellip;Bruins&rsquo; captain Jason Allison, who is healing from a broken finger, decided against playing for Canada in the World Championships because he doesn&rsquo;t have a contract. &#9632;

f0023-02

Amount of time Dafoe’s missing huge concern for Bruins’ brass

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03471/7570363-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="221" height="248"></div>Tommy Albelin is the longest-serving Flames&rsquo; player. He joined the team for the final 20 games of the 1995-96 season and was in the lineup when they made their last playoff appearance, going four-and-out in an opening round loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.Since then, the Flames have missed post-season play for five years in a row, a frustrating absence for Albelin - and for the team&rsquo;s fans - who shared a belief that this year might be different.In a way, it was. The Flames actually went backwards, and in the end missed post-season play by 17 points.&ldquo;My assessment is that, in the first month-and-a-half, we won just three games,&rdquo; Albelin said. &ldquo;After the first month, we played. 500 hockey. Nowadays, you need to be above. 500 to be in the playoffs, but if we can straighten out that first month, play well and get some points, that&rsquo;s the key for this team - just to ride on that wave. We always dig ourselves a hole that first month and we can&rsquo;t recover from that.&rdquo;The Flames clearly are not in the upper echelon in terms of pure talent, Albelin said, and thus need to play with more consistency.&ldquo;What this team has to figure out is that we have to play the same game every night - and by that I mean, we have to make sure we don&rsquo;t make any turnovers. We do it right two out of three games and then we don&rsquo;t.&ldquo;We have to play within our system and know that maybe we&rsquo;re not as talented as other teams. We can&rsquo;t give up any chances and we have to capitalize on the ones we get.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S STATUS The Flames replaced Don Hay with Greg Gilbert with 14 games to go in the season, with a view to giving Gilbert a running start on next year.Gilbert himself says he will return as the coach, provided he and GM Craig Button determine they are philosophically on the same page.For his part, Albelin gave Gilbert high marks for his work in the final month.NOTEBOOK After the Flames traded right winger Bill Lindsay to San Jose and signed goaltender Mike Vernon to a contract extension, defenseman Tommy Albelin became the team&rsquo;s primary unrestricted free agent. He too wants to meet with GM Craig Button to see what plans the team might have for him. Several clubs inquired about Albelin at the trading deadline, but Button decided not to trade him, thinking his presence in the linep as a mentor for the team&rsquo;s young defensemen was more important than any mid-round draft choice he was offered&hellip;It wasn&rsquo;t immediately clear if the Flames would bring center Ron Sutter, another potential unrestricted free agent, back. Used mainly in a checking capacity, Sutter joined the team for the final quarter of the season, scoring one goal and three assists in 21 games&hellip;Defenseman Derek Morris is skating with Team Canada to prepare for the 2001 World Hockey Championships, which start April 28. &#9632;

f0023-03

Inconsistent play early in season doused Flames, vet Albelin says

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02740/7570394-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="598" height="928"><figcaption class="caption-body">HAWK TAKES DIVE Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; captain Tony Amonte slipped to 64 points this season, from 84, after being given the &lsquo;C&rsquo;. (BBS)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011067/7570401-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="219" height="252"></div>As the Blackhawks head into another lengthy off-season after missing the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, one of GM Mike Smith&rsquo;s biggest tasks will be to add some character and leadership to support Tony Amonte, Bob Probert, Jocelyn Thibault, Steve Sullivan and Alex Zhamnov.&ldquo;It would make a big difference,&rdquo; Amonte said. &ldquo;Character guys is what it all comes down to. We just didn&rsquo;t have enough character, guys who respond, guys who fight through anything, guys who just want to win.&rdquo;Part of the problem was the inexperience of Amonte and assistant captain Zhamnov as leaders. It was Amonte&rsquo;s first season as captain and the job overwhelmed him at times. He had an off-year, by his standards, with 35 goals, 64 points and a minus-22 mark.&ldquo;Maybe at the beginning I let it affect me a bit,&rdquo; Amonte said. &ldquo;But really it&rsquo;s the job of individual players to get ready to play.&rdquo;Smith realizes what player leadership in the dressing room can mean to a coach.&ldquo;We have to address the inner core of our team, the inner fiber,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;I think we need a stronger inner core, we need stronger leadership. I&rsquo;ve been in this situation before and it&rsquo;s very difficult for anybody that&rsquo;s a coach if you don&rsquo;t have a strong locker room.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S STATUS Former Washington, Philadelphia and Florida coach Terry Murray is emerging as a strong candidate to replace Alpo Suhonen behind the bench. His brother Bryan is also thought to be on Smith&rsquo;s short list of candidates, with Chicago assistants Denis Savard, Al MacAdam and, potentially, Los Angeles assistant Dave Tippett, in the picture.Terry Murray nearly got the Chicago job in 1998 before it went to Dirk Graham because ownership was not prepared to meet Murray&rsquo;s salary demand. Smith also considered Terry Murray in Toronto in 1998, when he was the Maple Leafs&rsquo; associate GM.NOTEBOOK The Hawks kept goaltender Jocelyn Thibault out of the last two games of the season, after his weight dropped from 172 to 158&hellip;GM Mike Smith hopes to talk with captain Tony Amonte&rsquo;s agent this summer about a contract extension. Amonte will be an unrestricted free agent in 2002. &#9632;

f0024-02

Chicago GM putting high priority on players with leadership skills

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Aaron Portzline</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03501/7570432-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="220" height="252"></div>The Blue Jackets have reached the point where their inaugural season success doesn&rsquo;t seem like such a positive.Columbus will pick No. 8 overall in the 2001 Entry Draft, June 23-24 in Sunrise, Fla. That&rsquo;s much lower than expansion teams are accustomed to, but the Blue Jackets&rsquo; 28 wins and 71 points this season put them out of contention for a pick in the upper echelon.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited,&rdquo; said president/GM Doug MacLean. &ldquo;The first four picks are in the Eastern Conference and five of the top seven are in the Eastern Conference. Anaheim and Minnesota are the only two teams in the West picking in front of us.&rdquo;The Blue Jackets have virtually no chance at the top two skill players - Russian right winger Ilya Kovalchuk and center Jason Spezza of the Ontario Hockey League Windsor Spitfires - unless they move way up.&ldquo;My thinking is very simple: I&rsquo;m going to pick the best talent there,&rdquo; MacLean said. &ldquo;With (23-year-old goalie) Marc Denis and (18-year-old defenseman) Rusty Klesla already here, though, the inclination is to take a forward.&rdquo;There are two players in the Blue Jackets&rsquo; backyard who are attractive, if for no other reason than pure sentiment. Ohio State University, a few miles up the road from Nationwide Arena, has two of the Central Scouting Service&rsquo;s top-rated North American players - forward R. J. Umberger and defenseman Dave Steckel.COACH&rsquo;S STATUS Dave King was a self-admitted taskmaster in his three seasons with the Calgary Flames, but his temperament was the perfect fit for the Blue Jackets in their inaugural season, and there&rsquo;s no question he&rsquo;ll return.The Flames were expected to succeed; the Blue Jackets were expected to fail. King&rsquo;s patience and extensive knowledge proved to be a steadying influence on a team that overachieved and was one of the NHL&rsquo;s more successful expansion franchises.Many of the Blue Jackets thought he deserved some consideration for the Jack Adams Award, or at least as much as Minnesota Wild coach Jacques Lemaire generated. Columbus went 21-21-8-5 in its last 55 games and finished ahead of seven other teams with 71 points.NOTEBOOK Defensemen Petteri Nummelin (Finland) and Deron Quint (U.S.) and right winger David Vyborny (Czech Republic) are expected to represent their countries in the upcoming World Championships in Germany&hellip;King and the coaching staff spent the first few days of their off-season putting together a videotape that will detail the Blue Jackets&rsquo; style of play for prospective free agents&hellip;The franchise is close to purchasing its own DC-9 airplane so it will no longer have to rely on charter services. That also could interest free agents. &#9632;

f0024-03

Blue Jackets’ first choice in June entry draft likely to be forward

<div class="byline">&#x2013;David J. Neal</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04329/7570463-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="219" height="247"></div>As the Florida Panthers scattered for the off-season almost as quickly as they left the locker room the day coach Terry Murray was fired, the first off-week proceeded with little of note. For two days, that is.That&rsquo;s when Alan P. Cohen, leader of the group most likely to purchase the team, announced his upcoming retirement from Andrx Corp. This appeared to clear the way for an upcoming sale.Cohen founded the Davie, Fla.-based generic drug company in 1992 and recently sold off large blocks of his Andrx stock, presumably for the purpose of pm-chasing the Panthers.Cohen, 46, would be the largest investor in the group, which also includes customer service company CEO David Epstein, former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar and AutoNation president Mike Maroone.The selling price is said to be in the neighborhood of $100 million.COACH&rsquo;S STATUS If this season was hell for the Panthers, at least Duane Sutter and assistant coaches Billy Smith and Slava Lener have been upgraded to Limbo. That&rsquo;s where he and the coaching staff are until a sale is completed, the new owner chooses a new general manager - and possibly a new president - and they choose a new coach.Smith and Lener&rsquo;s contracts are up this season. Under Sutter, the Panthers were 16-20-6-4, after starting the season a dismal 6-18-7-5 under Murray. Murray and brother Bryan, the team&rsquo;s GM, were both fired in late December. President Bill Torrey handled the duties of GM for the rest of the season. Torrey reportedly holds Colorado assistant coach Bryan Trottier in high regard.NOTEBOOK Reaching for the &lsquo;glory days&rsquo; of a franchise going through some of its darkest days, the Panthers began running a two-month series called &lsquo;The Year it Rained Rats&rsquo; on its website, <a href="http://www.floridapan-thers.com">www.floridapan-thers.com</a>. The series, which began April 15, is a review of the 1996 playoff run that ended the 1995-96 season with the three-year-old Panthers in the Stanley Cup final against Colorado. In the second game of the regular season, the home opener, right winger Scott Mellanby gave the season its symbol when he killed a rat in the dressing room at the old Miami Arena before scoring two goals against Calgary. After that, fans began throwing plastic rats onto the ice after every Florida goal&hellip;Saying he wants to let some nagging injuries heal, two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner Pavel Bure has declined an invitation to play for Russia in the World Championships, which open in Germany April 28. Center Viktor Kozlov, who missed the last six games of the regular season with groin problems, also was invited to play for Russia, but he too decided to take a pass and let his injury heal&hellip;Defenseman Bret Hedican has been named to the U. S. team and goaltender Roberto Luongo, a candidate for the Calder Trophy, will play for Canada. &#9632;

f0024-04

Former NFL quarterback in group aiming to buy Panthers’ franchise

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Tom Jones</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02628/7570522-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="276" height="305"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sean Hill St. Louis</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01957/7570529-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="232" height="238"></div>The post-mortem of the Minnesota Wild&rsquo;s successful first season hadn&rsquo;t even been finished and GM Doug Risebrough was working on the second season.&ldquo;Lots to do,&rdquo; Risebrough said a day after the season ended. &ldquo;First, we have to get ready for the draft, then we have to start thinking about contracts. I&rsquo;ll be at home maybe three or four nights before the draft.&rdquo;Risebrough left the day after the season for Europe to attend the World under-18 Championship. He&rsquo;ll return in time to watch a few top prospects for the entry draft, which the Wild will select sixth overall.Then Risebrough has get cracking on offers for 10 of his players eligible to restricted free agents this summer, including No. 1 goalie and team MVP Manny Fernandez.After that comes the free agency period, but don&rsquo;t look for the Wild to be overly active.&ldquo;We may even add a veteran or two to balance the youth because maybe our young guys won&rsquo;t be ready to handle all the responsibility,&rdquo; Risebrough said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see (us getting younger) as a real critical thing. We have some good youth.&rdquo;Still, the Wild will think about adding a veteran defenseman to help replace Sean O&rsquo;Donnell, who was traded in March. The need becomes more critical if Lubomir Sekeras isn&rsquo;t re-signed. Sekeras, 32, led Wild defenseman in points last season, his first in the NHL after a long career in Europe.COACH&rsquo;S STATUS Jacques Lemaire probably could become the first person to be elected mayor of both Minneapolis and St. Paul at the same time. The Twin Cities are wild about the Wild and Lemaire.Playing Lemaire&rsquo;s trapping defense, the Wild finished with 68 points despite winning once in the final 14 games. Lemaire said he was re-charged after a three-year absence from coaching and also by the Wild&rsquo;s play this season. He says he&rsquo;ll be back for another season at least behind the bench.NOTEBOOK Rookie Marian Gaborik is expected to play for Slovakia in the World Championship despite missing the final four games with a strained abdominal muscle. Other Wild players expected to play in the World Championships include Wes Walz (Canada), Darby Hendrickson (United States), Lubomir Sekeras (Slovakia) and Antti Laaksonen (Finland).<h2>THE LITTLE THINGS</h2>Who&rsquo;s winning the battles that win the wars? Listed by team are playoff leaders in hits, blocked shots and faceoff winning percentage (minimum 40 faceoffs) through April 19. Included is each team&rsquo;s category leader.<h3>Most Hits, Playoffs</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03410/7570515-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="604" height="235"></div><h3>Most Blocked Shots, Playoffs</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04254/7570508-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="610" height="238"></div><h3>Faceoff Winning Percentage, Playoffs</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-05181/7570501-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg" title="f0025-05" width="609" height="241"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-06149/7570494-1-eng-US/f0025-062.jpg" title="f0025-06" width="280" height="310"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kris Draper Detroit</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0025-02

Risebrough shifts focus in off-season

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011062/7570560-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="220" height="238"></div>Training camp might be almost four months away, but it&rsquo;s never too early for speculation to begin in Montreal.This summer&rsquo;s burning question revolves around the No. 1 goaltender - Jose Theodore or Jeff Hackett.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s for someone else to decide,&rdquo; said Theodore, skirting the issue. &ldquo;But I showed I can play on a regular basis in this league. I had to learn what it&rsquo;s like to go out there every night and do the job.&rdquo;A hand injury that sidelined Hackett most of the season thrust Theodore into the starter&rsquo;s role by default. Theodore had a losing record, but hardly disgraced himself, going 20-29-5 in 59 games. He had a respectable 2.57 goal-against average and. 909 save percentage with two shutouts.&ldquo;I learned about what it takes to be a No. 1 goalie,&rdquo; said the 24-year-old. &ldquo;I learned how to battle and stay focused when you&rsquo;re not having your best night.&rdquo;Should Montreal believe Theodore can handle the brunt of the netminding chores, they&rsquo;ll attempt to deal Hackett. But that might be easier said than done. Hackett, who turns 33 June 1, has two years remaining on a contract that will pay him $7 million. That&rsquo;s a lot of money for a guy who appeared in only 19 games last season, going 4-10-2 with a 3.25 GAA and. 887 save percentage.COACH&rsquo;S STATUS Michel Therrien is safe for now, his option for next season having been picked up.But don&rsquo;t forget Alain Vigneault entered this season with a new deal, only to be fired after 20 games, with Montreal&rsquo;s record at 5-13-2.Therrien can expect a similar fate should the Canadiens start slowly next season. Plus he has coach-in-waiting Guy Carbonneau lurking over his shoulder - despite the assistant coach&rsquo;s claim he has no interest in the job.NOTEBOOK Prospective owner George Gillett Jr. declined an invitation to be part of the season-ending team picture. Molson president Daniel O&rsquo;Neill, who was in the picture, offered Gillett a seat in the front row, but the Colorado-based businessman declined, saying he didn&rsquo;t feel it was appropriate before his purchase is completed&hellip;Defenseman Patrice Brisebois, booed unmercifully during home games, refused to participate in a short video in which the players thanked the fans for their support. &#9632;

f0026-01

Top stopper job still up for grabs

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Jeff Legwold</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02725/7570591-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="241" height="240"></div>In a rare public admission for a franchise that prefers to keep its business matters private, Nashville Predators&rsquo; president Jack Diller said the team expects to lose $400,000 this season.The surprising news came after reports from Nashville metro officials that the downtown arena the team calls home will lose more money this year than last.The Predators control the publicly financed arena and have first priority in dates there. The team made $400,000 to $500,000 last season, but Diller has cited rising player salaries and &ldquo;increasing game-day expenses&rdquo; for the loss.That means the Predators will likely raise ticket prices next season, the first increase in the franchise&rsquo;s three-year existence. Diller says the team is currently $8 below the league average in ticket prices.Attendance also took a dip. Nashville averaged 15,884 fans per night in the 17,113-seat Gaylord Entertainment Center. That&rsquo;s about a four per cent drop from 1999-2000.The Predators were in the bottom five in player salaries this year at about $18-19 million. They also set franchise records for wins (34) and points (80).COACH&rsquo;S STATUS Barry Trotz and assistants Paul Gardner and Brent Peterson all have one year remaining on their deals. GM David Poile has said extensions could be in the works for all three, who have been with the team since its first season in 1998-99.Trotz has worked with one of the youngest rosters in the league and the Predators were in the playoff mix deep into the second half of the year.Opposing coaches have often given high marks for the Predators&rsquo; effort throughout the season.NOTEBOOK U.S. national team coach Lou Vairo said goalie Mike Dunham was his first choice for the World Championships. But Dunham declined because he doesn&rsquo;t have a contract for next season. Dunham said he didn&rsquo;t want to risk injury without a new deal. He is one of several restricted free agents the Predators will attempt to re-sign in the coming months&hellip;Right winger Scott Walker, who also does not have a contract for next season, elected to compete for Team Canada. Center David Legwand and defenseman Mark Eaton are also playing for the U.S. team. &#9632;

f0026-02

Predators improve but bottom line sags

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Peter Botte</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03576/7570622-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="217" height="240"></div>The only positive by-product of the New York Islanders&rsquo; annual failure to qualify for the playoffs is the international experience it affords many of their players.With the team missing the playoffs for an NHL-high seventh consecutive year, five Islanders will continue playing at the World Championships in Germany.Defenseman Zdeno Chara will represent Slovakia for the fourth time. Left winger Brad Isbister will make his second straight appearance for Team Canada. Right winger Mark Parrish will make his third World appearance with the U.S., joined by first-year reps, center Tim Connolly and goalie Rick DiPietro.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just looking at this as an opportunity to win something,&rdquo; Isbister said.With the No. 2 pick in the June draft, GM Mike Milbury will also attend the World Championships to scout two highly rated Russians: LW Ilya Kovalchuk and RW Stanislav Tchistov.COACH&rsquo;S STATUS Milbury has taken a methodical approach to the coaching search since he admits this likely will be his last hire with the Islanders.Former NHL coaches Ted Nolan, Robbie Ftorek, Bryan Murray, Kevin Constantine and Jim Schoenfeld have inter-viewed for the position, with Pat Burns, Brian Sutter also expressing interest. Mike Keenan became available when he was fired by Boston following the season, but he isn&rsquo;t expected to be considered.Another intriguing candidate is former Isles great and current Colorado assistant Bryan Trottier, who had a 30minute phone conversation with Milbury in early April with permission from Avalanche GM Pierre Lacroix.Butch Goring was fired as coach March 3.NOTEBOOK Bryan Trottier finally agreed to have his No. 19 sweater retired next season, joining former teammates Denis Potvin (5), Clark Gillies (9), Mike Bossy (22), Bob Nystrom (23) and Billy Smith (31) in the Nassau Coliseum rafters. Trottier, who endured financial problems after his playing days, denied reports for several years that he had been demanding an exorbitant appearance fee to attend a ceremony In March, the Hall of Famer met with Islanders&rsquo; owner Charles Wang and agreed to an unspecified date for next season. &#9632;

f0026-03

Hungry Isles still active at Worlds

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Rick Carpiniello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011013/7570653-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="222" height="248"></div>Maybe the Rangers&rsquo; fourth consecutive non-playoff season wasn&rsquo;t a total loss. Okay, it was a total loss.But New York believes it at least took a couple of positive steps down the stretch.Not only did coach Ron Low insert a number of rookies into the lineup and increase the responsibilities and ice time of a few other young players, but captain Mark Messier saw to it that the team used the last few weeks as building blocks.Having played all 82 games for only the second time in his glorious 22-year NHL career, Messier will be back next season, when he turns 41.Low pointed out that Messier told his teammates, in Low&rsquo;s words: &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t get beat, or beat up, going down the stretch. I mean, we&rsquo;re out of it, but that&rsquo;s beside the point. We have to show some pride and go out and play as hard as we can.&rdquo;&ldquo;And you know,&rdquo; Low added, &ldquo;it rubbed off on a lot of people.&rdquo;Messier doesn&rsquo;t want the credit. To him, it was only a natural thought process.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s important that, first of all, that we didn&rsquo;t give up on each other,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I know there&rsquo;s a lot of talk about playoff positioning, and standings and draft picks and all that. But when you&rsquo;re in a team, in the dressing room, your responsibility is to play the best you can and to win every game. Anything other than your best is not acceptable. It&rsquo;s not good enough.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S STATUS When Glen Sather, the Rangers&rsquo; president-GM, was asked the day after the season to assess the work of Low and assistants Walt Kyle and Ted Green, he hesitated at first.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the same as asking about the job security of somebody and I&rsquo;m not going to get into it,&rdquo; Sather said.Then he added, &ldquo;Oh, I think they were fine and they did a good job.&rdquo;Low has never had a winning season as an NHL coach and Sather has had nine straight losing seasons as a GM.NOTEBOOK The pro debuts of the Rangers&rsquo; top two prospects, center Jamie Lundmark and left winger Pavel Brendl, will have to wait until next season. Both players&rsquo; junior eligibility ended the same night, with eliminations by their WHL teams from the playoffs. &#9632;

f0027-01

Messier makes mates accountable

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Bob McManaman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02658/7570684-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="221" height="269"></div>One of the factors in Jeremy Roenick&rsquo;s decision on whether to re-sign with the Phoenix Coyotes was answered when the team managed to secure a future new hockey arena in the neighboring city of Glendale.Their new home, set to open in time for the 2003-04 NHL season, isn&rsquo;t enough to prevent the veteran center and team&rsquo;s most popular player from testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent. But it&rsquo;s a start.&ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t interested in making a long-term commitment to the Coyotes and finding out they were going to move out of state a year after he signs a contract,&rdquo; said GM Cliff Fletcher. &ldquo;This is one of the obstacles that has been removed insofar as our negotiations with him.&rdquo;Roenick, 31, earned $5 million this past season in the final year of a five-year, $20-million contract. He may be able to fetch $7 million or more a year by signing elsewhere, but the Coyotes aren&rsquo;t prepared to pay him more than $6 million a season.COACH&rsquo;S STATUS Despite guiding the team to its second-highest point total ever (90) and consecutive 90-point seasons, there were whispers Bobby Francis might not be back for the final year of his contract. Those whispers are not true, even though the Coyotes failed to make the playoffs for the first time in six years.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very comfortable with what has been accomplished here the last two years, what we did and what we&rsquo;re capable of doing,&rdquo; Francis said.NOTEBOOK With the promise of a new arena comes a promise from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that the Coyotes will host a future NHL All-Star Game. Assuming there is a work stoppage in 2004-05, Arizona would likely host in 2006 or 2007, at which time most of the nearly $1 billion in land development at the arena site, including two hotels, would be completed. &#9632;

f0027-02

New rink may help Coyotes keep J.R.

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Damian Cristodero</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04303/7570715-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="806" height="837"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BBS)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03445/7570722-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="220" height="253"></div>Vincent Lecavalier said he wants to remain part of the Tampa Bay Lightning.&ldquo;I want to stay,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I love Tampa. It&rsquo;s like my home. The people here are unbelievable.&rdquo;But that doesn&rsquo;t mean forging a new contract with the 21-year-old captain, who&rsquo;s eligible to become a restricted free agent July 1, will be easy.The Lightning is looking at the contract signed by 21-year-old Bruins&rsquo; center Joe Thornton, who just completed the first season of a three-year, $5.35-million deal.Agent Kent Hughes said to look at Lakers&rsquo; star Kobe Bryant (six years, $71 million) and Colts&rsquo; quarterback Peyton Manning (six years, $45 million) as reference points. Hughes doesn&rsquo;t expect Tampa Bay to match those big-money deals and he acknowledged the economics of basketball, football and hockey are very different, but he does think the situations are similar.&ldquo;Vince is the cornerstone of the franchise,&rdquo; Hughes said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anybody has tried to hide that.&ldquo;Look at the way (the Lakers and Colts) stepped up and said, &lsquo;We recognize the importance of those players to the organization.&rsquo; I hope (the Lightning) look at it that way and not like, &lsquo;This is market value.&rdquo;COACH&rsquo;S STATUS John Tortorella is in the driver&rsquo;s seat next season, despite the fact the team didn&rsquo;t really experience the typical improvement that comes with a new coach, going 12-27-1-3 after taking over Jan. 6 from Steve Ludzik.But his message of player accountability to the team and teammates (he benched Lecavalier for poor play during the third period of a late-season 5-4 loss to the Sabres) is one that management wants and that players are. slowly buying into.NOTEBOOK Nikita Alexeev, last season&rsquo;s first round pick and No. 8 overall, is close to being signed. The 6-foot-5,215-pound right winger for Erie of the Ontario League dislocated a kneecap in the playoffs.HOME ICE ADVANTAGEPhoenix&rsquo;s mission to re-sign soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Jeremy Roenick was bolstered when the franchise secured a deal for a new arena, slated to open in 2003. &#9632;

f0027-04

Lecavalier at home playing in Tampa

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011048/7570753-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"></div>Projected defense pairs and lines, including restricted free agents (**) &#9632;

f0028-01

NHL PLAYOFF DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>Goalie Neil Little again is Mr. Big for the Philadelphia Phantoms.Little was instrumental in the Phantoms&rsquo; first round playoff upset of the defending Western Conference champion Rochester Americans, posting one shutout and allowing just seven goals as Philadelphia won the best-of-five series 3-1.&ldquo;He has such a presence in our locker room and our community,&rdquo; said coach John Stevens. &ldquo;He has won a championship (with the Phantoms in 1998) and he knows how to win.&rdquo;An 11th round draft pick (226th overall) in 1991, Little has been in the Flyers&rsquo; system for seven years, but has never played in an NHL game. Oh, he has been up on recall as the backup for a variety of goalies, for about 35 games. But he hasn&rsquo;t been asked to play.&ldquo;Not one minute,&rdquo; he said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01930/7570822-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="278" height="338"><figcaption class="caption-body">Neil Little</figcaption></div>His role as permanent minor leaguer isn&rsquo;t likely to change. Roman Cechmanek is the Flyers&rsquo; 30-year-old surprise star; Brian Boucher is the second-year backup; and Maxime Ouellet, Philadelphia&rsquo;s first round pick in 1999, just completed his final junior season.Three months after he won the Calder Cup in 1998, the Flyers shipped Little to Grand Rapids of the International League for the 1998-99 season, so Boucher could get a crash course on pro hockey with the Phantoms. But Little returned last season and was the mainstay in goal again this year. He played 58 games, going 22-27-4 with a 2.81 goals-against average behind a defense that for three months included five rookies.Said Little: &ldquo;I like the playoffs, this is when it&rsquo;s definitely more exciting because a championship is on the line. My goal is still to get my shot (in the NHL).&rdquo; &#9632;

f0029-01

Little measures up in Phantoms’ crease

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02610/7570860-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="346" height="361"></div>The Montreal Canadiens missed the Stanley Cup playoffs again, but that didn&rsquo;t stop them from playing the role of spoiler.One day before the Saint John Flames began the Calder Cup playoffs, the Habs claimed center Benoit Gratton off waivers from the Calgary Flames.While Gratton is ineligible to play for Montreal&rsquo;s American League affiliate, the Quebec Citadelles, he also can&rsquo;t play for Saint John. The two AHL clubs face each other in the second round.Gratton played for Canadiens&rsquo; coach Michel Therrien when the Granby Predateurs won the Memorial Cup in 1996.&ldquo;Personally for us, it&rsquo;s devastating when you first hear it,&rdquo; said Saint John coach Jim Playfair. &ldquo;But the longer you look at it, it&rsquo;s a great opportunity for Grafts.&rdquo;Calgary hopes that&rsquo;s the sole reason the Habs claimed Gratton, who had 10 goals and 46 points in 53 AHL games, as well as one goal and four points in 14 NHL games this season.&ldquo;The waiver system at the NHL level is designed to give players an opportunity to play,&rdquo; said Calgary GM Craig Button. &ldquo;One of the flaws in the system right now is that in a situation like this, it really hurts the player.&rdquo;65 SAVES NOT ENOUGH Sebastien Charpentier set a Portland club record for saves in a game, but 65 weren&rsquo;t enough as the Saint John Flames won a triple-overtime marathon 3-2 over the Pirates to complete a first round sweep. Chris Clark scored 2:06 into the sixth period. &ldquo;I pulled everything I have,&rdquo; said Charpentier after it took five hours and 14 minutes to play the 102:06 of hockey.&ldquo;All the people that didn&rsquo;t believe in me this year&hellip;The playoffs are my little baby. I love the feeling.&rdquo;BLUEGRASS BLUES The Louisville Panthers have asked the AHL for permission to cease operations for at least next season while they assess the viability of hockey in Kentucky.Meanwhile, the Kentucky Thoroughblades remained alive in Lexington, although they still were 1,400 shy of their requirement of 3,000 season tickets for next season and still hadn&rsquo;t given the AHL a commitment about playing next season.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03405/7570853-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="1349" height="1771"><figcaption class="caption-body">Right winger Sasha &lsquo;The Basha Lakovic led the Rochester Americans in penalty minutes in both the regular season and playoffs. (ROD Skeocn/BBS)</figcaption></div><h2>CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>AHL FIRST ROUND</h3>(Best-of-5 series)WESTERN CONFERENCEPhiladelphia 3 Rochester 1 Wilkes-Barre 3 Syracuse 2 Hershey 3 Kentucky 0 Norfolk 3 Cincinnati 1 EASTERN CONFERENCE Quebec 3 St. John&rsquo;s 1 Worcester 3 Lowell 2 Providence 3 Hartford 2 Saint John 3 Portland 0<h3>AHL SECOND ROUND</h3>(Best-of-7 series)WESTERN CONFERENCEHershey vs. Norfolk Wilkes-Barre vs. Philadelphia EASTERN CONFERENCE Providence vs. Worcester Saint John 1 Quebec 0<h3>THE HOCKEY NEWS TOP 3</h3>1. A late-season slump by Hershey&rsquo;s Frederic Cassivi cost him the starting job, but the veteran was a standout as the Bears swept Kentucky, posting a. 952 save percentage.2. Rookie center Milan Kraft&rsquo;s six goals and nine points helped Wilkes-Barre/Scranton bounce Syracuse in five games. He had two goals and an assist in the 6-2 win in Game 5.3. Quebec winger Johan Witehall, reassigned by Montreal, counted two winners among his three goals and five points as the Citadelles beat St. John&rsquo;s. &#9632;

f0029-02

Gratton sidelined by waiver claim

<div class="byline">By Rob Mueller</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04279/7570891-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="306" height="321"></div>Johnstown Chiefs&rsquo; GM Toby O&rsquo;Brien went to new heights trying to prove his players are survivors, but it couldn&rsquo;t keep them from being voted off the island in the East Coast League playoffs.With the Chiefs down 2-0 to regular season champion Trenton in a best-of-five Northern Conference quarterfinal, O&rsquo;Brien climbed onto the roof at Cambria County War Memorial Arena April 10 and vowed to stay there until the series ended.Patterned after the reality-based TV series Survivor, O&rsquo;Brien&rsquo;s stunt inspired the Chiefs to victory in Game 3 April 13 to keep their season alive, but the mighty Titans captured the series with a win in Game 4 in Johnstown to advance to the conference semifinal.Hours before Game 3, fans tailgated on the sidewalk below O&rsquo;Brien. Booster club members brought him food and waved banners, while passing motorists honked their horns as a sign of support. The Chiefs even held a party on the roof for O&rsquo;Brien&rsquo;s son, Chad, who celebrated his ninth birthday on Day 1 of the five-day adventure.TOP SEEDS TAKE ROOT The top two seeds in the Northern and Southern Conferences earned berths in the Kelly Cup conference semifinals.Along with the North&rsquo;s top seed Trenton, the Southern Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed South Carolina advanced in four games with a victory over Arkansas in the conference quarterfinal.Defending Kelly Cup champion and No. 2 seed Peoria moved on in the Northern Conference by beating Richmond 3-1 in the best-of-five series, while 2000 Kelly Cup runners-up Louisiana, the No. 2 seed in the South, prevailed in five games over New Orleans in the South quarterfinal.There was one upset in the South, with the sixth-seeded Mobile Mysticks upending No. 3 seed Jackson in five games to advance to the South semifinal vs. South Carolina.COAST LINES George Shinn, co-owner of the NBAs Charlotte Hornets and partowner of the ECHL&rsquo;s Charlotte Checkers, has expressed interest in buying the troubled Birmingham Bulls. Shinn also is looking at the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks and the Huntington Blizzard franchise, which suspended operations after the 1999-2000 season. If Shinn buys one of the clubs, he reportedly would move it to Atlantic City, N.J. &#9632;

f0029-04

Johnstown defeat brings GM down to earth

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>The old dogs - in this case, experienced players - who make up the majority of the Chicago Wolves&rsquo; roster managed to learn a few new tricks in time to finish first in the International League&rsquo;s Western Conference.&ldquo;Or, at least they remembered their own old tricks,&rdquo; said veteran Wolves&rsquo; defenseman Dallas Eakins, after the pre-season favorites completed their run from worst to first on the last day of the regular season by beating Manitoba 3-0. Chicago finished with 93 points, one more than second-place Houston.In January, the Wolves were buried in fifth, seven games under. 500. That&rsquo;s hard to do in a shootout league, but they rebounded with a league-best mark of 28-11-4 in the second half.&ldquo;The league has gotten better this year,&rdquo; Eakins said. &ldquo;Suddenly we realized it when teams were laughing at us, coming off the ice after beating us. It started ticking some guys off.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011043/7570922-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="275" height="347"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dallas Eakins</figcaption></div>Coach John Anderson said the IHL All-Star Game, in which the defending Turner Cup champions shut out the league&rsquo;s all-stars 4-0 Jan. 15, was a turning point.&ldquo;We all of a sudden woke up to the fact that possibly, if we play that way during the regular season, we could do better,&rdquo; Anderson said.The coach also said that, in winning five of the last six games to reach first place and a playoff date with the Mil-waukee Admirals, Chicago had to turn it up yet another notch.&ldquo;The league&rsquo;s too competitive for any free rides,&rdquo; Anderson said.&ldquo;We realized that, especially because we&rsquo;re the Chicago Wolves, we&rsquo;re kind of viewed as the evil empire, which I guess goes with winning. Nobody wants to see. us win.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0030-01

All-star shutout Wolves’ wakeup call

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02699/7570960-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="443" height="322"></div>Derek King of the Grand Rapids Griffins scored a goal on the final night of the International League&rsquo;s regular season and Steve Larouche of the Chicago Wolves earned one assist. So the two players wound up sharing the Leo P. Lamoureux Trophy as regular season scoring champs.King finished with 32 goals and 83 points in 76 games, while Larouche, THN&rsquo;s pre-season MVP choice, had 31 goals and 83 points in 75 games.Unlike the NHL, the IHL doesn&rsquo;t have a most-goals tiebreaker.Houston&rsquo;s Brett Harkins, who led the league in assists with 64, wound up third with 80 points.BOURNE FREE? Utah Grizzlies&rsquo; coach-GM Bob Bourne wasn&rsquo;t certain of his future after the team missed the IHL playoffs for only the second time in seven seasons.Utah was ousted from the Western Conference post-season by the league&rsquo;s new crossover rule, which allowed the Milwaukee Admirals, who finished fifth in the Eastern Conference, to scoop the fourth seed in the West because of a better record (91 points to Utah&rsquo;s 84).Bourne has one year left on his contract, but it&rsquo;s an option year and whether he returns or not is up to the parent Dallas Stars.&ldquo;If I was Dallas, I would seriously be thinking about why we didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs and if I am the right coach,&rdquo; Bourne said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d be disappointed if I wasn&rsquo;t back here next year. Emotionally, I&rsquo;ve put way more into this season than I ever have.&rdquo;DOTTING THE &lsquo;I&rsquo; Of the 451 regular season IHL games, 81 finished tied after 60 minutes. Thirty of those were decided in 4-on-4 overtime (37 per cent), while 51 went to shoot-outs&hellip;Though Grand Rapids finished first overall with 113 points, 12 better than second-place Orlando in the East, there wasn&rsquo;t a single mismatch in the four first round playoff series. During the regular season, Grand Rapids defeated Cleveland in six of nine games, but two of those wins came in extra time; Orlando (6-4-0) had the edge on Cincinnati with one shootout win; and Chicago and Milwaukee each beat the other four times. Houston and Manitoba each won three games outright against the other, while the Aeros and Moose played six additional matches that went into overtime.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03489/7570953-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="1309" height="1899"><figcaption class="caption-body">Orlando veteran Curtis Murphy finished third in IHL defensemen scoring with 19 goals and 49 points in 51 games.</figcaption></div><h2>TURNER CUP PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>IHL FIRST ROUND</h3>(Best-of-7 series)WESTERN CONFERENCEChicago vs. Milwaukee Manitoba vs. HoustonEASTERN CONFERENCECincinnati 1 Orlando 0 Cleveland vs. Grand Rapids<h3>THE HOCKEY NEWS TOP 5</h3>1. Cincinnati goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier stopped 50 Orlando shots as the Cyclones drew first blood in the Eastern Conference semifinal matchup.2. Chicago has the first two home games April 20 and 21 against Milwaukee, but the teams were engaged in a bitter fight over the remaining dates for the series.3. Center Todd White was expected back in Grand Rapids&rsquo; lineup after Ottawa was swept by Toronto in the NHL&rsquo;s first round.4. Milwaukee&rsquo;s 91-point season ousts the Utah Grizzlies from the Western Conference&rsquo;s fourth playoff spot in the IHL&rsquo;s new version of the crossover rule. The Admirals&rsquo; reward was a date with defending champion Chicago.5. Houston went 7-2-1 in its final 10 games of the season to make it in the West and appeared to have momentum on its side in its first round series against Manitoba. &#9632;

f0030-02

King and Larouche share scoring title

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Brendan Savage</div>The Muskegon Fury&rsquo;s 5-2 win over Quad City in Game 3 of a best-of-five quarterfinal ended Quad City&rsquo;s United Leaguerecord unbeaten streak at 28 games (240-4). But Quad City won the series in four games to reach the semifinal for the fifth straight season&hellip;Afterwards, Muskegon&rsquo;s Sergei Kharin announced his retirement from North American hockey. Kharin, 39, said he might play one more season in Europe, but would prefer a coaching job in North America. He was the UHL playoff MVP in 1999, when Muskegon won the title. &#9632;

UNITED LEAGUE

<div class="byline">&#x2013;David Henry</div>The Lubbock Cotton Kings won four straight games to finish the regular season, then reeled off six consecutive post-season wins and led Odessa 2-0 in the best-of-seven Western Pro League Western Division final. Lubbock goaltender Lance Leslie&rsquo;s shutout streak ended at 165:44 in a 4-1 win over the Jackalopes April 14&hellip;Ken Carroll of the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, who was named the WPHL&rsquo;s rookie of the year and best goaltender, stopped 24 shots in a 4-0 win over the Tupelo T-Rex April 14 to tie the East final at 1-1. &#9632;

WESTERN PRO LEAGUE

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Don Ruiz</div>The Colorado Gold Kings joined the West Coast League&rsquo;s elite this season. Now, they&rsquo;re trying to make sure they stay there. The Gold Kings have signed five key players to three-year contracts, something very rare in the WCHL. Under contract through the 2002-03 season are the team&rsquo;s top four scorers: Craig Lyons (117 points and league MVP), R.J. Enga (105 points and first-team all-star), Tom Perry (98 points) and Zac Boyer (90 points). Also locked up for two more seasons is versatile center Craig Chapman. &#9632;

WEST COAST LEAGUE

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Bob Stratton</div>Oklahoma City swept Tulsa in three games to advance to the Western Division final against San Antonio, which had rallied from a 5-2 loss to Topeka to win three straight. Memphis, meanwhile, swept defending champion Indianapolis and will face Columbus in the East final. Columbus edged Fayetteville 3-2 in its first round series. With the Cottonmouths on the verge of being eliminated, Drew Schoneck scored in the fourth overtime period to give Columbus a 3-2 win in Game 4. The Cottonmouths then won Game 5, 5-2. &#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/f0031-01961/7571094-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="392" height="214"></div>Brampton Battalion right winger Lukas Havel was charged with disorderly conduct and fined $300 in an Erie, Pa., court after the Battalion were eliminated from the Ontario League playoffs by the Otters.Police said Havel threw his stick into the seats April 14 and it struck a 12-year-old boy during the second period of a 5-4 loss. The Otters won the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal in five games, advancing to the conference final against the Plymouth Whalers.Havel was initially ejected for throwing punches from the Brampton bench. Erie police Lt. D.J. Fuhrmann said as Havel went to the dressing room, he threw his stick in frustration. It bounced into the stands and Fuhrmann said the boy was struck on the stomach, but was not seriously injured.&ldquo;This meets the criteria for disorderly conduct, although it was not at all intentional,&rdquo; said Fuhrmann, adding the same charge would be filed if a golfer threw his club and it hit another golfer.Havel, 20, is a native of the Czech Republic and finished his third OHL season. He has not been drafted by the NHL. He had 20 goals and 51 points this season and added one goal and seven points in eight playoff games.The league was investigating the incident.MAJOR DECISION Toronto St. Michael&rsquo;s Majors shareholders rejected a $2.1-million offer to buy the team from a group headed by Ken Cook of Guelph.Cook&rsquo;s group likely would have moved the team to Cornwall. That group failed in an attempt to buy the Owen Sound Platers last year when the community stepped in. The franchise was renamed the Attack.Andy Papadokos, a current Majors&rsquo; shareholder, may buy out the others and then sever association with the school. The team could play at the Air Canada Centre, York University or Varsity Arena, which is on the campus of the University of Toronto.FIRST ROUND CASUALTY Brian O&rsquo;Leary became the first coach fired after the season when the Owen Sound Attack informed him he would not be retained.The Attack was eliminated in the first round by the Windsor Spitfires after Owen Sound finished sixth in the Western Conference at 31-27-7-3.That was an improvement of 10 wins over the previous season, when the team missed the playoffs. The Attack was also 22-7-5 at home, fifth-best in the league.O&rsquo;Leary was promoted from assistant coach in January, 2000, when Dave Siciliano was fired.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure this will take me some time to get over,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Leary said.First-year GM Dan Halliburton said player development suffered in the second half, contributing to the playoff elimination.&ldquo;It was my call,&rdquo; Halliburton said. &ldquo;It went before the ownership group and was supported. Looking ahead, it was felt a coaching change had to be made to take this team to the next level of development.&rdquo;<h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02626/7571087-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="954" height="408"></div>HIGHLIGHTS (April 13-19) St. Mike&rsquo;s rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in Sudbury&hellip;Cory Pecker had two hat tricks for Erie. &#9632;

f0031-01

Battalion winger Havel in hot water with police after throwing stick

<div class="byline">By Willy Palov</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03459/7571132-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="388" height="294"></div>It&rsquo;s hard to decide who benefitted most from Radim Vrbata&rsquo;s breakout season.Was it the Shawinigan Cataractes, who had their best-ever season in 32 years (54-12-6-2) after acquiring him from the Hull Olympiques for the fourth pick in the 2000 Canadian Hockey League import draft?Was it the Colorado Avalanche, who came off looking like geniuses for drafting the 6-foot-1, 190-pound sniper 212th overall in 1999?Or was it Vrbata, who went into the season hoping to prove to the Avalanche he was worth signing before the June 1 deadline?The answer just may be that all three parties are better for the 19-year-old right winger&rsquo;s 56-goal, 120-point campaign.&ldquo;I knew how important this year was for me,&rdquo; said Vrbata, who helped the Czech Republic win a gold medal at the 2001 World Junior Championship. &ldquo;It was my third year in the Quebec League and it was time for me to have my best season. And we had such a good team in Shawinigan and that really helped me.&ldquo;But I also had to show the Avalanche I could improve. I always work hard in the summer, but after seeing what the NHL is like at my first Colorado camp (in 1999) I knew I had to do even more this summer.&rdquo;The Avalanche and Vrbata&rsquo;s agent, Jiri Crha, are working on a deal that will keep Colorado from losing him to re-entry in the 2001 draft. Vrbata was Colorado&rsquo;s No. 7-rated prospect in THN&rsquo;s Future Watch.His coach, Denis Francouer, thinks Vrbata is a future NHLer. &ldquo;He has all the tools,&rdquo; Francouer said. &ldquo;He has excellent hockey sense and is a great skater.&rdquo;SPELLING BEE Confidence is everything in the playoffs, according to Acadie-Bathurst Titan coach Real Paiement.After opening up a 3-1 lead on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the second round of the QMJHL playoffs, Paiement was not worried his team would collapse like the Chicoutimi Sagueneens did against Cape Breton in the first round.&ldquo;Acadie-Bathurst is not spelled C-H-I-C-O-U-T-I-M-I,&rdquo; said Paiement after Game 4, referring to how the Sagueneens blew a 3-0 series lead against the Eagles.The Titan won 6-3 in Game 5 to take the series 4-1.KNEE WOES Shawinigan will have to get by without defenseman Zbynek Michalek for the rest of the playoffs.He went down with a knee injury in Shawinigan&rsquo;s second round sweep of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.&ldquo;The series was short, but we lost a key player,&rdquo; said coach Denis Francouer. &ldquo;He tore knee ligaments in the third game and he won&rsquo;t be back. Another good thing about having a short series is that you don&rsquo;t risk injuries like you would in a long series.&rdquo;Michalek, an 18-year-old rookie from the Czech Republic, had 39 points and was plus-41 in 69 games.<h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04337/7571125-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="946" height="404"></div>HIGHLIGHTS (April 13-19) Simon Gamache had six points in Val-d&rsquo;Or&rsquo;s 7-5 win over Victoriaville in Game 7. &#9632;

f0031-03

Shawinigan sniper Vrbata has focus on playoffs and future in Colorado

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05267/7571170-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="386" height="266"></div>Tyler MacKay is the Spokane Chiefs&rsquo; Mr. Clutch. MacKay backstopped the Chiefs to victory in their first seven Western League playoff games of 2000-01, posting a league-best 1.58 goals-against average., 942 save percentage and one shutout.Spokane opened the post-season with a four-game sweep of the Kamloops Blazers. The Chiefs then ousted the Seattle Thunderbirds in three straight games in the best-of-five Western Conference semifinal.&ldquo;With the competition level in the playoffs, a goalie can be the difference between winning and losing,&rdquo; said MacKay, 21. &ldquo;I try to play my hardest and make it a challenge to the players on the team to be better than I can be. In the series against Kamloops, most guys played better than I did and it made my job easier.&rdquo;MacKay also sparkled in the playoffs last year. He boasted a 1.87 GAA and. 934 save percentage in eight games as Spokane reached the league final (won by the Kootenay Ice in six games).&ldquo;The regular season is 72 games, so you&rsquo;ve got to keep a pace,&rdquo; MacKay said.&ldquo;As soon as the playoffs get here, it&rsquo;s do-or-die and, to give your team a chance to win, you&rsquo;ve got to stop just about every puck.&rdquo;The undrafted MacKay had a 2.93 GAA., 888 save percentage and three shutouts in 62 regular season games.LONG NIGHT Swift Current and Kootenay played the third-longest playoff game in WHL history April 11 - a 108-minute, 33-second marathon.Broncos&rsquo; right winger Ben Ondrus gave his team a 4-3 win by scoring at 8:33 of the third overtime.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the most tired I&rsquo;ve ever been,&rdquo; Ondrus said. The longest game in WHL playoff history was March 21,1996, when the Regina Pats downed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-2 in quadruple overtime. Pats&rsquo; center Josh Holden scored at the 122:46 mark.The second-longest game was March 23,1991, when the Moose Jaw Warriors needed a third extra frame to edge Swift Current 3-2 on right winger Rob Reimer&rsquo;s goal at 109:17.WILL SIT FOR SEVEN The WHL suspended Prince George Cougars&rsquo; left winger Derek Boogaard for seven games due to a match penalty he received against the Portland Winter Hawks.Boogaard was penalized for running over Lanny Ramage April 9 as the Portland goalie was bending over to grab the puck following a 5-3 Hawks&rsquo; victory, which ended the first round series in six games.Prince George coach Ed Dempsey was also suspended for three games and fined $500. Dempsey and Portland coach Mike Williamson were seen yelling at each other under the stands after the game.Since Prince George is eliminated, both suspensions will begin at the start of next season.<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06217/7571163-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="952" height="406"></div>HIGHLIGHTS (April 13-19) Swift Current won all four games in Kootenay The final four contests were decided by one goal &#9632;

f0031-05

Super stopper MacKay rises to playoff hero role as Chiefs keep sweeping

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011026/7571215-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01931/7571208-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="3153" height="3573"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011051/7571201-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="3167" height="1271"></div> &#9632;

f0032-01

HOCKEY’S BEST STATS

2001 NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02714/7571246-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0034-02

NHL PLAYOFF GOALTENDING 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; Decdecision, charges to goaltenders of record when winning goal is scored.<h2>FRIDAY, APR. 13</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01988/7571382-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="518" height="1110"></div><h2>SATURDAY, APR. 14</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02694/7571375-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="516" height="1997"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03567/7571368-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="500" height="3541"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04450/7571361-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="504" height="2039"></div><h2>SUNDAY, APR. 15</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05376/7571354-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="506" height="1437"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06342/7571347-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="502" height="1749"></div><h2>MONDAY, APR. 16</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07316/7571340-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="500" height="1728"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08282/7571333-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="508" height="3556"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-09256/7571326-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="512" height="504"></div><h2>TUESDAY, APR. 17</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-10223/7571319-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="520" height="2981"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01950/7571312-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="508" height="1669"></div><h2>WEDNESDAY, APR. 18</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02627/7571305-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="511" height="1818"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03518/7571298-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="510" height="3549"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04395/7571291-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="507" height="302"></div><h2>THURSDAY, APR. 19</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05330/7571284-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="507" height="3176"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06288/7571277-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="514" height="211"></div><h2>NHL TRANSACTIONS</h2>Transactions include NHL personnel moves from April 14-20. Injuries for playoff teams are filed by THN cor-respondents and include target return date or time frame. Playoff teams&rsquo; depth charts are on pg. 28.<h3>ANAHEIM</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.<h3>ATLANTA</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.<h3>BOSTON</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.<h3>BUFFALO</h3>TRANSACTIONS April 17 Mika Noronen. G, Doug Houda, D, Brian Campbell, D, and Norm Milley, RW, recalled from Rochester (AHL).INJURIES Erik Rasmussen. LW, separated right shoulder, day-to-day. Denis Hamel, LW. torn knee ligament, out for season.<h3>CALGARY</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.<h3>CAROLINA</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES Ron Francis, concussion, day-to-day. Marek Malik, sore groin, day-to-day. Shane Willis, concussion, day-to-day.<h3>CHICAGO</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.<h3>COLORADO</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES Nolan Pratt. D, sore groin, day-to-day.<h3>COLUMBUS</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.<h3>DALLAS</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES Joe Nieuwendyk. C, sprained right knee, late April.<h3>DETROIT</h3>TRANSACTIONS April 15 Chris Chelios. D, fined $1,000 by NHL for careless use of stick against Luc Robitaille of Los Angeles in Game 2 of Eastern Conference quarterfinal. Ken Wregget, G, recalled from Manitoba (IHL). April 19 Wregget assigned to Manitoba. April 20 Yuri Butsayev, C, recalled from Cincinnati (AHL).INJURIES Steve Yzerman. C, sprained ankle, late April. Brendan Shanahan, LW, broken left foot, indefinite.<h3>EDMONTON</h3>TRANSACTIONS April 18 Ty Conklin, G, signed three-year contract.INJURIES Ethan Moreau. LW, bruised heel, day-to-day. Frank Musil, D, arm nerve damage, indefinite.<h3>FLORIDA</h3>TRANSACTIONS April 18 Sean O&rsquo;Connor, RW, signed contract.<h3>LOS ANGELES</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES Craig Johnson. RW, ankle surgery, indefinite.<h3>MINNESOTA</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.<h3>MONTREAL</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.<h3>NASHVILLE</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.<h3>NEW JERSEY</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES None.<h3>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.NEW YORK RANGERSTRANSACTIONS None.<h3>OTTAWA</h3>TRANSACTIONS April 16 Shawn McEachern, LW, fined $1,000 by NHL for butt-ending Aki Berg of Toronto in Game 2 of Eastern Conference quarterfinal April 15.INJURIES None.<h3>PHILADELPHIA</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES None.<h3>PHOENIX</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.<h3>PITTSBURGH</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES None.<h3>ST. LOUIS</h3>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES Tyson Nash. LW, right knee surgery, out for season. Jeff Finley, D, concussion, indefinite.<h3>SAN JOSE</h3>TRANSACTIONS April 16 Vesa Toskala, G, Steve Bancroft, D. Dave Maclsaac, D, Matt Bradley, RW, Jonathan Cheechoo, RW, Mikael Samuelsson, RW, Ryan Kraft, C, and Jim Montgomery. C, recalled from Kentucky (AHL).INJURIES Evgeni Nabokov, G, sore back, day-to-day. Bryan Marchment, D, sore right knee, day-to-day. Gary Suter, D, concussion, day-to-day<h3>TAMPA BAY</h3>TRANSACTIONS None<h3>TORONTO</h3>TRANSACTIONS April 17 Alexei Ponikarovsky, LW, Mike Minard, G, Nathan Dempsey, D, Petr Svoboda, D, Jeff Farkas, C, and Mikael Hakanson, C, recalled from St. John&rsquo;s (AHL).INJURIES Garry Valk, LW, right eye injury, day-to-day.<h3>VANCOUVER</h3>TRANSACTIONS April 15 Bryan Allen, D, Zenith Komarniski, D, Alfie Michaud, G, Brad Leeb, RW, Mike Brown, LW. and Artem Chubarov, C, recalled from Kansas City (IHL). April 17 Marc Crawford, coach, fined $15,000 by NHL for making derogatory comments following Game 3 of Western Conference quarterfinal vs. Colorado April 16. The team fined $10,000 by NHL for not allowing media access to the dressing room within 10 minutes of end of game.INJURIES Markus Naslund, LW, broken right leg. Andrew Cassels, C, sprained left ankle. Scott Lachance. D, sprained left knee Bob Essensa, G, sprained right knee.<h3>WASHINGTON</h3>TRANSACTIONS April 16 Chris Corrinet, RW, Mike Farrell, RW, Corey Hirsch, G, Martin Hlinka, C, Matt Pettinger, LW, Todd Rohloff, D, Michal Sivek, C, and Brian Sutherby, C, recalled from Portland (AHL). April 18 Kris Beech, C, recalled from Calgary (WHL).INJURIES Dmitri Mironov. D, back surgery, indefinite<h2>THE WEEK THAT WAS</h2>A weekly compendium of significant events and developments (April 14-20).April 14 For the second straight night, Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; goalie Curtis Joseph shuts out the Ottawa Senators on their home ice, this time making 37 saves in a 3-0 win. The Leafs, who finished seventh in the Eastern Conference, take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven conference quarterfinal with the Senators, who finished second.April 15 Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; defenseman Chris Chelios is fined $1,000 by the NHL for careless use of his stick against Luc Robitaille of the Los Angeles Kings in the Wings&rsquo; 4-0 win in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinal the day before.The Dallas Stars nip the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Benoit Hogue&rsquo;s overtime goal to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference quarterfinal.April 16 Joseph&rsquo;s scoreless streak against the Senators ends at 176:51, but the Maple Leafs still win 3-2 in overtime on a goal by Cory Cross to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their series.Peter Forsberg scores in overtime as the Colorado Avalanche edges the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 to take a 30 stranglehold on the Western Conference quarterfinal.April 17 Curtis Brown&rsquo;s overtime goal gives the Buffalo Sabres a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers and a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal.The Oilers square their Western Conference quarterfinal series with the Stars at two games apiece when Mike Comrie scores in overtime in a 2-1 Edmonton victory.April 18 Senators&rsquo; star Alexei Yashin is held to just one assist in the series as the Maple Leafs win 3-1 to sweep the Eastern Conference quarterfinal in four straight games.The regular season NHL champion Avalanche defeat the Canucks 5-1 to sweep the Western Conference quarterfinal four straight games.April 19 Veteran Kirk Muller scores in overtime as the Stars nip the Oilers 4-3 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference quarterfinal.<h2>2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP</h2>The 2001 IIHF World Senior Championship will take place in Nuremberg. Cologne, and Hanover, Germany from April 28 to May 13. Sixteen teams are divided into four groups and play each team in their group during a preliminary round. The Groups are as follows: Group A: Czech Republic. Switzerland, Belarus, Germany. Group B: Finland, Slovakia. Austria, Japan. Group C: Sweden, United States, Latvia, Ukraine. Group D: Canada, Russia, Norway, Italy. The schedule includes teams, date, local game time and location.<h3>SCHEDULE</h3>Preliminary RoundSat. Apr. 28: Switzerland vs. Germany, 3:15 p.m., Cologne; Norway vs. Canada, 4 p.m., Hanover; Belarus vs. Czech Republic, 4 p.m., Nuremberg; Russia vs. Italy, 8 p.m., Hanover; United States vs. Ukraine, 8 p.m.; Cologne; Austria vs. Finland. 8 p.m., Nuremberg. Sun. Apr. 29: Latvia vs. Sweden, 4 p.m., Cologne; Slovakia vs. Japan, 4 p.m., Nuremberg; Russia vs. Norway, 8 p.m., Hanover; Czech Republic vs. Germany, 8 p.m., Cologne. Mon. Apr. 30: Canada vs. Italy, 4 p.m., Hanover: Switzerland vs. Belarus, 4&rsquo; p.m., Cologne; Slovakia vs. Austria, 4 p.m., Nuremberg; United States vs. Latvia, 8 p.m., Cologne; Finland vs. Japan, 8 p.m., Nuremberg. Tues. May. 1: Sweden vs. Ukrainie, 8 p.m&bdquo; Cologne; Italy vs. Norway, 8 p.m., Hanover; Czech Republic vs. Sweden 8 p.m., Nuremberg. Wed. May. 2: Germany vs. Belarus, 3:15 p.m., Hanover; Ukraine vs. Latvia, 4 p.m., Cologne; Japan vs. Austria, 4 p.m.; Nuremberg; Canada vs. Russia, 8 p.m., Hanover; Sweden vs. United States, 8 p.m., Cologne; Finland vs. Slovakia, 8 p.m., Nuremberg.<h3>Qualification Round</h3>Thurs. May. 4: D1 vs A3, 3:15 p.m., Hanover; B2 vs. C3,4 p.m., Cologne; C4 vs. A4,3:15 p.m., Nuremberg; A2 vs D3,8 p.m., Hanover; C1 vs. B3,8 p.m., Cologne; B4 vs. D4,8 p.m., Nuremberg. Fri. May. 5: A1 vs. D2, 4 p.m., Hanover; B1 vs. C2,4 p.m., Cologne; A4 vs. D4. 4 p.m., Nuremberg; D1 vs. A2,8 p.m., Hanover; C1 vs. B2, 8 p.m., Cologne; B4 vs. C4, 8 p.m., Nuremberg. Sat. May. 6: D2 vs. A3,4 p.m., Hanover;, C2 vs B3,4 p.m., Cologne; D3 vs. A1,8 p.m., Hanover; C3 vs B1,8 p.m., Cologne. Sun. May. 7: A3 vs. D3, 4 p.m., Hanover; A4 vs. B4, 4 p.m., Nuremberg; B3 vs C3, 8 p.m.; Cologne; D4 vs, C4, 8 p.m., Nuremberg. Mon. May. 8: A2 vs. D2,4 p.m., Hanover; B2 vs. C2,4 p.m.; Cologne; A1 vs, D1,8 p.m.; Hanover; B1 vs. C1,8 p.m., Cologne.<h3>Quarterfinals (Times to be announced)</h3>Wed. May. 10: 49. E1 vs. F4, Hanover; 50. F1 vs. F4, Cologne: 51. E2 vs. F3, Hanover; 52. F2 vs. E3, Cologne.<h3>Semifinals (Times to be announced)</h3>Fri. May. 12: 53. W49 vs. W52, Hanover; 54. W50 vs. W51, Hanover.<h3>Bronze Medal Game</h3>Sat. May. 13: L53 vs. L54,3 p.m., Hanover.<h3>Gold Medal Game</h3>Sat. May. 13: W53 vs. W54,8 p.m., Hanover.Listed below are preliminary rosters for six of the World Championship entrants.CANADA - Goal: Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Anaheim), Fred Brathwaite (Calgary), Roberto Luongo (Florida). Defense: Kyle McLaren (Boston), Derek Morris (Calgary), Wade Redden (Ottawa). Stephane Robidas (Montreal), Forwards: Jeff Friesen (Anaheim), Brad Isbister (Islanders), Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay), Michael Peca (Buffalo), Brad Richards (Tampa Bay). Steve Sullivan (Chicago), Joe Thornton (Boston). Scott Walker (Nashville). Wes Walz (Minnesota),CZECH REPUBLIC - Goal: Milan Hnilicka (Atlanta), Vladimir Hudacek (Zlin). Defense: Frantisek Kaberle (Atlanta), Filip Kuba (Minnesota), Pavel Kubina (Tampa Bay), Angel Nikolov (Litvinov) Martin Rucinsky (Montreal), Jaroslav Spacek (Chicago). Forwards: Petr Cajanek (Zlin), Jiri Dopita (Vsetin), Radek Dvorak (Rangers), Robert Reichel (Litvinov), David Moravec (Vitkovice Ostrava), Pavel Patera (Minnesota), Martin Prochazka (Vitkovice Ostrava), Tomas Vlasak (HPK-Finland), Viktor Ujcik (Slavia Prague), David Vyborny (Columbus),FINLAND - Goal: Ari Sulander (Zurich-Switzerland), Pasi Nurminen (Jokerit), Jarmo Myllys (Lulea-Sweden). Defense: Marko Kiprusoff (Kloten-Switzerland), Jarno Kultanen (Boston), Kari Martikainen (Rapperswil-Switzerland), Antti-Jussi Niemi (Phoenix), Petteri Nummelin (Columbus), Pasi Petrilainen (Timra-Sweden), Kimmo Timonen (Nashville), Ossi Vaananen (Phoenix). Forwards: Niklas Hagman (Karpat Oulu), Raimo Helminen (Ilves Tampere). Jukka Hentunen (Jokerit). Olli Jokinen (Florida), Tommi Kallio (Atlanta), Niko Kapanen (TPS Turku), Antti Laaksonen (Minnesota), Juha Lind (Montreal), Kimmo Rintanen (TPS Turku), Toni Sihvonen (IFK Helsinki). Vesa Viitakoski (Ilves Tampere), Tony Virta (TPS Turku).RUSSIA - Goal: Ilya Bryzgalov (Lada Togliatti), Mikhail Shtalenkov (Dynamo Moscow), Vadim Tarasov (Metallurg Novokuznetsk). Defense: Dmitri Krasotkin (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl), Oleg Orehovsky (Dynamo Moscow), Evgeni Petrochinin (Severstal Cherepovets), Oleg Tverdovsky (Anaheim), Vitaly Vishnevski (Anaheim), Andrei Zyuzin (Tampa Bay). Forwards: Anton But (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl), Pavel Datsyuk (AK Bars Kazan), Alexander Golts (Metallurg Magnitogorsk), Ravil Gusmanov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk), Valery Karpov (Lada Togliatti), Alexander Kharitonov (Tampa Bay), Alexander Prokopiev (Avangard Omsk), Andrei Razin (Metallurg Magnitogorsk), Denis Shvidki (Florida), Alexei Yashin (Ottawa), Sergei Zolotov (AK Bars Kazan).SWEDEN - Goal: Andreas Hadelov (Malmo), Stefan Liv (HV 71), Mikael Tellqvist (Djurgarden). Defense: Peter Andersson (Lugano-Switzerland), Kim Johnsson (Rangers), Niklas Kronwall (Djurgarden), Bjorn Nord (Nuremberg-Germany), Christer Ohlsson (Brynas), Mattias Ohlund (Vancouver) Forwards: Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa), Per-Johan Axelsson (Boston), Christian Berglund (Farjestad), Johan Davidsson (Espoo-Finland), Nichlas Falk (Djurgarden), Kristian Huselius (Vastra Frolunda), Andreas Johansson (Bern-Switzerland), Mikael Johansson (Djurgarden), Fredrik Modin (Tampa Bay), Mikael Renberg (Lulea), Daniel Sedin (Vancouver), Henrik Sedin (Vancouver), Henrik Zetterberg (Timra),UNITED STATES - Goal: Rick DiPietro (Islanders), Robert Esche (Phoenix), Ryan Miller (Michigan State). Defense: Mark Eaton (Nashville), Hal Gill (Boston), Bret Hedican (Florida), Phil Housley (Calgary). Deron Quint (Columbus), Eric Weinrich (Boston), Forwards: Jim Campbell (Montreal), Tim Connolly (Islanders), Matt Cullen (Anaheim), Darby Hendrickson (Minnesota), David Legwand (Nashville), Mark Parrish (Islanders), Landon Wilson (Phoenix).<h2>WOMEN&rsquo;S HOCKEY</h2>Listed below is the centralization roster for the 2002 Canadian Women&rsquo;s Olympic Team. Training will begin on a full-time basis in Calgary on Aug. 5. Listed are players with hometown and 2000-01 team.<h3>Goaltenders</h3>Danielle Dub6, Vancouver BC, Richmond; Charline Labonte, Boisbriand QC, Mistral de Laval; Sami Jo Small, Winnipeg MB, Brampton Thunder; Kim St-Pierre, Chateauguay QC, McGill University.<h3>Defence</h3>Correne Bredin, Warburg AB, Dartmouth College; Therese Brisson, Montreal QC, Mississauga Ice Bears; Isabelle Chartrand, Anjou QC; St. Lawrence University; Delaney Collins, Pilot Mound MB. Oval X-Treme; Geraldine Heaney, Weston ON, Beatrice Aeros; Becky Kellar, Hagersville ON, Beatrice Aeros; Cheryl Pounder, Mississauga ON, Beatrice Aeros; Nathalie Rivard, Cumberland ON, Mississauga Ice Bears; Fiona Smith, Edam SK, Edmonton Chimos; Colleen Sostorics, Kennedy SK, Oval X-Treme.<h3>Forwards</h3>Dana Antal, Esterhazy SK, Oval X-Treme: Gillian Apps, Unionville ON, Beatrice Aeros; Kelly Bechard, Sedley SK, Oval X-Treme; Amanda Benoit-Wark, Welland ON, Beatrice Aeros; Jennifer Botterill, Winnipeg MB, Harvard University; Cassie Campbell. Brampton ON, Oval X-Treme; Nancy Drolet, Drummondville QC, Vancouver Griffins; Lori Dupuis, Cornwall, ON, Brampton Thunder; Danielle Goyette, St-Nazaire QC, Oval X-Treme; Jayna Hefford, Kingston ON, Brampton Thunder; Gina Kingsbury, Rouyn-Noranda QC: St Lawrence University; Caroline Ouellette, Montreal QC, Montreal Wingstar: Cherie Piper, Scarborough ON, Beatrice Aeros; Tammy Lee Shewchuk, St-Laurent QC, Harvard University; Vicky Sunohara, Scarborough ON, Brampton Thunder; Hayley Wickenheiser, Shaunovan, SK, Oval X-Treme.Head Coach: Daniele Sauvegeau.Assistant Coaches: Wally Kozak, Mel Davidson. &#9632;

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NHL PLAYOFF GAME SUMMARIES

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IHL FINAL REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

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SCOREBOARD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01876/7571489-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="298" height="375"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Brophy Senior Writer</figcaption></div>The Scott Stevens hit on Shane Willis was legal; the question is, was it necessary?Just like he did on the Eric Lindros pasting in last year&rsquo;s playoffs, the New Jersey captain caught the Carolina rookie in a vulnerable position. With his head down, Willis tried to cut across the middle of the ice just outside the Devils&rsquo; blueline, unaware of the impending doom. Then Stevens, with his arm tucked carefully at his side and his shoulder thrust forward, stepped into Willis and delivered a crushing blow that was felt around the league.Few dispute the legality of the hit. But what about the timing?We&rsquo;re talking about Game 2 in a series that was clearly a mismatch. We&rsquo;re talking about 11.7 seconds remaining in a contest the Devils were leading comfortably. Couldn&rsquo;t the 6-foot-1,215-pound Stevens have taken the body without destroying his opponent?Ask around the NHL and you&rsquo;ll find the answer: No.&ldquo;He did two things with that hit,&rdquo; said former NHLer Nick Kypreos. &ldquo;First, he let the Hurricanes know there&rsquo;s no way they&rsquo;re getting back in the series. Also, he sent a message to the other teams in the playoffs that the road to the Stanley Cup goes through him and it&rsquo;s up the middle of the ice.&rdquo;The speedy Willis, a 6-foot, 185-pounder who was among the NHL&rsquo;s best freshmen this season, spent the night in hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion that kept him on the sidelines.Though the hit sent shockwaves through the Carolina dressing room, there was little finger-pointing at the 37-year-old Stevens. While some questioned his intentions, no one accused him of doing anything illegal.&ldquo;It was a good hit,&rdquo; said Carolina right winger Jeff O&rsquo;Neill. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a clean hit. What are you going to do?&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02572/7571482-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="1465" height="1365"><figcaption class="caption-body">Scott Stevens can set the tone for a game with his intimidating, thunderous checks. (All Photos BBS)</figcaption></div>Even Hurricanes&rsquo; coach Paul Maurice conceded: &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing wrong with a clean hit. It&rsquo;s part of the game.&rdquo;But not all of the Canes were conciliatory. &ldquo;(Stevens) is good at what he does, but still, (Willis) is a young kid and you can end a guy&rsquo;s career doing that at that time of the game,&rdquo; said right winger Rob DiMaio.And this from goalie Arturs Irbe: &ldquo;That was not just delivering a bodycheck. He was going to try to kill the guy or put him out of the playoffs. That&rsquo;s how he plays.&rdquo;Make no mistake about it, the Stanley Cup playoffs is more than a marathon; it&rsquo;s a two-month war. It&rsquo;s survival of the fittest. It&rsquo;s as much about mettle and physical intimidation as it is great saves and clutch goals. The Devils, who are trying to defend the Stanley Cup, can beat you with their speed, smother you with their depth and, you guessed it, crush you with their size.There was a day when Stevens was as good a two-way defenseman as there was. He scored 21 goals in 1984-85 and had a career-high 78 points in 1993-94.But in the latter stages of his career, Stevens has prided himself on the defensive and physical aspects of the game. Enter the Devils&rsquo; territory and do so at your own risk. Stevens scored nine goals and 31 points in 81 games this season, modest totals, but was still THN&rsquo;s third choice for the Norris Trophy as the league&rsquo;s best defenseman because of the respect he commands in his own zone. (See pg. 10 for more on Stevens.)Last summer, in the wake of the Lindros hit, Stevens told THN: &ldquo;I hit cleanly You can count the number of elbowing penalties I&rsquo;ve had on the fingers of one hand.&rdquo;He wasn&rsquo;t kidding. In his first 18 seasons, through 1,353 games, Stevens was assessed just three elbowing minors. Add 81 games this year and one more elbowing penalty and you can still count them on the fingers of one hand.Last year, after he steamrolled Lindros, Stevens said it was like he was in the Twilight Zone. Lindros was playing in just his second game after missing 10 weeks with two concussions. &ldquo;I thought to myself, &lsquo;This can&rsquo;t be happening,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;It just can&rsquo;t be happening.&rsquo; It just didn&rsquo;t feel good at all.&rdquo;Following the Willis wipeout and a Game 3 concussion-causing check on Canes&rsquo; veteran captain Ron Francis, Stevens showed little remorse. He can&rsquo;t allow the opposition to think he hesitates. The minute he does that, he is less of a warrior.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how much time is left,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;I finish my checks. If there are only 11 seconds left, we should just call it right there, I guess. Even if there is one second left, the game is not over. It was a physical game. I caught him with his head down. I hit him with my chest and he hit his head on the ice. Obviously I&rsquo;ve been around the league a while and I can see it developing, but you can&rsquo;t draw a plan for a hit like that. It has to be just right. It was the right time. He was cutting through the middle.&rdquo;Former NHL coach and veteran broadcaster Harry Neale agrees.&ldquo;How long was his shift?&rdquo; Neale wondered. &ldquo;Is he supposed to keep track of time while he&rsquo;s playing? What&rsquo;s he sup-posed to do, go &lsquo;59 seconds&hellip;58 seconds&hellip;57 seconds, oops, no more hitting&hellip;56 seconds&hellip;55 seconds&hellip;54 seconds&hellip;no more blocked shots&hellip;&lsquo;&ldquo;The only time I have a problem with it is if I&rsquo;m the guy cutting through the middle.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s hard to argue with that.<h2>Upcoming In The Hockey World</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03434/7571475-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="3097" height="968"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jaromir Jagr will receive Art Ross Trophy No. 5.</figcaption></div>Here&rsquo;s what to look for in the coming weeksSat., April 28 World Championship begins in GermanySun., May 13 World Championship concludesSat., May 19 Memorial Cup begins in Regina, Sask.Tues., May 29 Stanley Cup championship beginsMon., June 11 Last possible date for Stanley Cup final gameThurs., June 14 Tentative date for NHL awards in TorontoSat., June 23 Day 1 of two-day NHL entry draft in Sunrise, Fla.Sun., July 1 Unsigned players become free agentsSun., July 15 Deadline for Group II players to elect salary arbitrationFor the latest news, visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>Next IssueMay 11, 2001Follow the Cup trail of Adam Foote&rsquo;s Avs and other Round 1 survivorsGet ready for the return of the Hansons in a Slap Shot sequelHabs&rsquo; legend Guy Lafleur was the reincarnation of Howie Morenz &#9632;

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May 3, 2001

Kings snap losing streak with memories of Miracle

Downed Eagle

Montreal sweep ended Bullies’ era

FROM THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS’ LOCKER ROOM: