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May 3, 2002
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.
Kings earn respect, can they beat Avs?
The Los Angeles Kings stepped up in weight class last April when they. took the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche to seven games in the second round of the playoffs. Even though they stumbled at the end of the 2001-02 season, the Kings continued to improve by reaching the post season for the third consecutive year. The Kings also have three straight 90-plus point seasons, a franchise first. So their first round meeting with the Avs this season brought more respect, and expectations. “We know playing the Kings is going to be a tough first round matchup,” said Colorado newcomer Darius Kasparaitis. “Everything in the West was so tight all season.” The Kings struggled during the final three weeks of the regular season, but appeared ready for the Avs. They won two and lost…
Ray days in Buffalo may be thing of past
Could this be the end for Rob Ray in Buffalo? The longtime fan favorite and tough guy made sure he soaked up his final home game in what sounded like a send-off just in case the Sabres don’t re-sign him next season. Ray was named the first star in a 3-1 loss to Washington in the Sabres’ last home game of the season April 12. He was overcome with emotion after receiving a standing ovation for his 13 seasons with the Sabres. Fans cheered loudly for Ray several times throughout the game. “That is what got me, I think,” Ray said. “That’s when I started thinking about it. You have a million things going through your head in a short period of time. It’s tough.” Ray, 33, can become an unrestricted free agent this…
McCabe rocks, blocks, scores
There has been all kinds of speculation as to just what prompted1 defenseman Bryan McCabe to take his game to the next level. Was it the one-piece stick that added a little zip to his shot? Was it added responsibility on a team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were supposed to be D-lite this season? Or was it simply part of the maturing process for a 26-year-old in his seventh NHL season, a young man who is comfortable in his skin compared to the days when he was the 22-year-old captain of a struggling New York Islanders franchise? Turns out it was none of the above. His success comes from a higher power - his wife, Roberta. “She tells me I didn’t start scoring until I married her,” McCabe chuckled. “She says she…
Islanders come up smiling
Time for a toast to the franchise that somehow, someway, never became toast. Hoist a few - champagne glasses, we mean, not precariously hanging scoreboards, or Mike Milbury hanging coaches, or heads hanging by persons who had once proudly witnessed four consecutive Stanley Cups. Lift high, in tribute to the Team That Would Not Die. The Islanders are back in the playoffs for the first time in eight years that only seem like 80. You wouldn’t have given a plugged nickel, what once turned out to be the total worth of one of their owner’s estates, for their survival, but they are alive and well after enough tears shed for them on Long Island to require rainwear on a fisherman. Sorry, sore subject. The team changed logos and everything went loco. It…
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