The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

November 1, 2002

The Hockey News November 1, 2002

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04439/8095003-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jaromir Jagr visits Pittsburgh on Oct. 28</figcaption></div>Here&rsquo;s what to look for in the coming weeksMon., Oct. 28 Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s Penguins host Jaromir Jagr and the CapitalsSat., Nov. 2 Fourth annual Hall of Fame Game features Montreal at TorontoMon., Nov. 4 Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in TorontoWed., Nov. 6 Women&rsquo;s 4 Nations Cup begins in Kitchener, Ont.Fri., Nov. 8 Men&rsquo;s Deutschland Cup begins in Hannover, GermanyThurs., Nov. 21 Battle of Alberta sees Edmonton visit CalgarySat., Nov. 23 New York, New York: Rangers, Islanders renew rivalry at MSGFri., Nov. 29 Carolina hosts Detroit in rematch of 2002 Stanley Cup finalThurs., Dec. 19 NHL&rsquo;s holiday roster freeze in effect until 12a.m. Dec. 27For the latest news, visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><h2>Next Issue</h2>November 8, 2002Rod Langway, Bernie Federko, Clarke Gillies & Roger Neilson are welcomed into Hall of Fame.Don&rsquo;t miss our special report on the early-season impact of the obstruction crackdown and the hurry-up faceoff rule. &#9632;

f0038-04

IN THIS ISSUE

Upcoming In The Hockey World

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Adam Proteau</div>Philadelphia Flyers Pos: Center Age: 32 Birthplace: Boston, Mass.Who would play you in a movie?&ldquo;Kirk Douglas. I get compared to him&ndash;and James Woods&ndash;a lot.&rdquo; (See Separated at Birth, at left.)What CDs are in your stereo?&ldquo;Craig David and Sade. I need something that can make me move.&rdquo;What is the funniest thing you&rsquo;ve seen during a game?&ldquo;I remember breaking my jaw, and a lady in the front row of the stands saw the whole thing. I looked over just in time to see her faint and fall face-first into the plexiglass. That was pretty funny.&rdquo;What are your hobbies away from the arena?&ldquo;I like to collect wine and I love to dine out as much as I can.&rdquo;Who are your closest friends in the league?&ldquo;Stephane Matteau, Bryan Marchment and Travis Green.&rdquo;What three famous people would you like to have dinner with?&ldquo;George W. Bush, Meg Ryan and Osama bin Laden, so I can kick his ass when I see him.&rdquo; &#9632;

TIMEOUT WITH JEREMY ROENICK

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011869/8092680-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0007-01

DEPARTMENTS

Elston

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011534/8093777-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="217" height="220"></div>It could have been a rerun of That &rsquo;90s Show&ndash;if such a sitcom existed for the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; John LeClair.One goal came off a power drive to the net. Another a tip-in deflection. A third on a topshelf wrister. Still another off a rebound.In a 6-2 Philadelphia win at Montreal Oct. 15, LeClair, who began his career with the Canadiens, put on a four-goal display straight out of the last decade when he was stringing together 50-goal seasons.His back is better and so is his disposition. With six goals in three games, LeClair has convinced the Flyers he has returned to form.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m able to get in position to score a bit more,&rdquo; LeClair said. &ldquo;I feel like I can move a lot better, I&rsquo;m a lot more pain-free. With that came some more strength and I&rsquo;m able to get more scoring opportunities.&rdquo;Coach Ken Hitchcock likes what he sees.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s taking defensemen&rsquo;s space away on the ice,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing very physical right now. Before, he was trying to play with finesse ahead of work and now the work is ahead of the finesse.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021172/8093770-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="228" height="282"><figcaption class="caption-body">John LeClair</figcaption></div>EUROPEAN IMPACT The Flyers are starting a franchise-history high of six Euros, including an All-Czech/Slovak line, two blueliners and a goaltender.The presence of Michal Handzus, centering rookies Pavel Brendl and Radovan Somik, has given the Flyers a credible third line. Goalie Roman Cechmanek, now in his third year, holds the key to any serious title hopes.On defense, the Flyers have been pleasantly surprised by rookie Dennis Seidenberg, a mainstay of the German Olympic team. Kim Johnsson, a Swede, provides steady twoway play.NOTEBOOK In 29 games against the Canadiens, the old team, left winger John LeClair has registered 28 goals and 43 points, much of the damage inflicted in Montreal. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s still exciting to play here,&rdquo; LeClair said&hellip;After a strong training camp, center Patrick Sharp earned a start in the season opener Oct. 10. Sharp was assigned to the American League Phantoms Oct. 17 to get more experience. &#9632;

f0018-01

NHL TEAM REPORTS

Hard-working LeClair turns back the clock

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01996/8095034-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

Cover-01

Shooting for the Stars

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021525/8092408-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sing-songy Nottingham and Sheffield fans raise the roof in support of their beloved sides.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011904/8092415-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="180" height="107"></div> &#9632;

f0003-02

Jolly old time

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03967/8092446-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="293" height="340"><figcaption class="caption-body">EDITOR&rsquo;S NOTEBOOK Jason Kay Managing Editor</figcaption></div>NOTTINGHAM, England&ndash;The ice was poor, the officiating curious and the calibre of hockey nothing to write home about, but I am because Hockey Night in Nottingham was a truly charming experience.In Great Britain for a family function, I needed my hockey fix as the NHL season began in earnest 3,500 miles away I had intended to see a game in my vacation base of London, but didn&rsquo;t take into account the Brits publish their schedules the way they drive: backwards. The London Knights were on the road.No worries. I called Dave Hawkins, editor of the monthly British magazine Face-Off and he suggested I witness a grudge match between the hometown Panthers and the first-place Sheffield Steelers. Cousin Stirling valiantly volunteered his vehicular services and we made the two-hour trek north to the land of Robin Hood.As we approached the National Ice Centre, I could tell I was in for a treat. A good hour before game time, there were already hundreds of Panthers&rsquo; supporters entering the arena, the majority of whom were sporting the black and gold colors of the home team. Many of the jerseys paid homage to former fringe NHLers, players who either got a cup or flask of coffee at the big league level. Here, however, the Barry Nieckars, Dody Woods and Scott Levins are revered.As the seats filled up in the arena&ndash;as all 6,500 eventually did&ndash;it became clear there is a good base of youth hockey support in central England. Perhaps because of ticket affordability, young boys and girls and families dotted the arena in numbers you wouldn&rsquo;t find in the NHL. A contingent from Sheffield, approximately 1,000 strong, filled four sections of the building, helping to set the tone for what would be an electric evening.Even the pre-game had its share of highlights. A Panthers&rsquo; player shattered a pane of glass with a shot, the home team&rsquo;s tireless (and somewhat cheesy) cheerleaders began their game-long dancing routine and rock stars Brian Johnson and Malcolm Young of AC/DC fame performed the ceremonial opening faceoff. The national anthem (a mercifully short version of God Save The Queen) was played and the teams got down to business.Or at least they tried to. The British Superleague has issued an edict similar to the obstruction crackdown taking place in the NHL this season and Scottish referee Moray Hanson promptly began to whistle while he worked. He called his first minor penalty 52 seconds into the game and proceeded to call an astounding 34 more the rest of the way.The frequent power plays didn&rsquo;t do much for the pace of the game, but the crowd never lost its zeal. A surprisingly knowledgeable and stunningly loud group, they cheered and jeered at the appropriate times&ndash;without any assistance from the scoreboard. One fan taught me a new heckle when he pointed at a player and shouted in his thick British accent,&rdquo;You tart!&rdquo;Another fan had his nose buried in a recent issue of The Hockey News during the first intermission. &ldquo;You picked a good game to see,&rdquo; said Panthers&rsquo; supporter David Brown. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing against our nearest and dearest.&rdquo;What made the night truly special, however, was the singing, in particular the creativity of the Steelers&rsquo; faithful. They sang lustily and in time just the way a British Premier League soccer crowd would. They sang happy birthday to defenseman Timo Willman. They heckled former Steeler Scott Allison, the 1990 Edmonton first-rounder who left Sheffield to join Nottingham during the off-season, with a chorus of Are You Watching Allison? after the Steelers went up 2-0. Then they ridiculed the home fans by warbling It&rsquo;s All Gone Quiet Over There, and pointing at their adversaries.As for the game, Sheffield outlasted Nottingham in a chippy and spirited contest. The skill level was middling&ndash;probably akin to what you&rsquo;d find in the East Coast League&ndash;but in fairness the ice was choppy and both teams were playing shorthanded even before the penalty box parade. With a league imposed salary cap of &pound;1 million per team (or about $1.5 million U.S.), the seven British clubs can only afford to pay 16 players. So Jim Paek and Eric Charron and Marc Laniel were seeing more ice time than Nicklas Lidstrom on a good night and it showed in the third period.The Steelers scored an empty-netter to cement the win and, following &ldquo;man of the game&rdquo; presentations, players from both sides did a lap of the rink and saluted the fans.Perhaps they don&rsquo;t do everything backwards around here. &#9632;

f0003-03

Brits know their hockey and how to carry a tune

<div class="byline">BY ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011851/8092477-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Aaron Broten</figcaption></div>Although the North Stars left Minnesota in 1993, it wasn&rsquo;t long before NHL hockey returned to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.Aaron Broten is familiar with the travel route.&ldquo;My family and I like the atmosphere here in Minnesota,&rdquo; said Broten, a native of Roseau, Min., where he works as an investment broker. &ldquo;Playing in the NHL, I&rsquo;ve lived in large cities, but it is nice to come home and have the kids be able to roam around.&rdquo;Selected 106th overall by the Colorado Rockies in 1980, Broten scored 72 goals and 178 points in 86 games with the University of Minnesota before beginning his NHL career with the Rockies, who would eventually relocate to New Jersey. The 5-foot-10,175-pound center played 12 seasons in the NHL, including a nine-season stay with the Devils, plus additional stints in Minnesota, Quebec, Toronto and Winnipeg.Broten was dealt from New Jersey to Minnesota midway through the 1989-90 season and though he played just 35 games with the North Stars, he appreciated the chance to play in his home state.&ldquo;It was very enjoyable,&rdquo; said Broten, now 41, of his time in Minnesota. &ldquo;When I first found out I was traded, it was tough. I had hoped to spend the rest of my career with the same organization and it was disappointing that things didn&rsquo;t work out.&ldquo;But if you had to be traded, there wasn&rsquo;t really a better place to go than back home.&rdquo;Broten retired from playing in 1992, finishing with 186 goals and 515 points in 748 games. His best season was in 1987-88 when he had a team-high 57 assists and 83 points in 80 games for the Devils. Broten, though, devoted himself to playing hard at both ends of the rink.&ldquo;I think of myself as somebody who was tough to play on offense and defense,&rdquo; Broten said. &ldquo;I had to work at it, but most guys who aren&rsquo;t extremely talented in one area or the other usually have to if they want to stay in the league.&rdquo;Broten&rsquo;s best years were spent with New Jersey; he led the 1982-83 edition of the Devils with 55 points and cur-&rsquo; rently ranks seventh in franchise history in games played (581), fifth in goals (147), fourth in assists (283) and third in points (430).The closest Broten came to the Stanley Cup was in 1987-88, when the Devils pushed the Boston Bruins to Game 7 of the Wales Conference final. It was the high point of his career, he said, but it was also the beginning of the end for Broten in New Jersey, as the team struggled the following season and he was ultimately dealt to Minnesota.&ldquo;When we lost to Boston, the guys who had been with the franchise for some time&ndash;the John MacLeans, the Kirk Mullers, the Pat Verbeeks, the Joe Cirellas&ndash;we wanted another crack at the Cup,&rdquo; Broten said. &ldquo;We were disappointed when the team was broken up, but that&rsquo;s the way things go sometimes.&rdquo;After he retired, Broten headed back to Roseau, a hockey hotbed known for producing NHL players such as Mike Baumgartner, Bryan Erickson and Broten&rsquo;s brothers Neal and Paul. He got his first coaching job there, helming the high school team to the State Consolation Championship in 2000. Broten now coaches a bantam team in the area.&ldquo;Hockey is a big part of this community,&rdquo; Broten said. &ldquo;When the temperature is 20-degrees below zero, there isn&rsquo;t much to do but skate, but that isn&rsquo;t such a bad thing.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0004-01

FEATURES

Former Devil loves the cold

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011859/8092532-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">UNDER SIEGE&nbsp;Florida&rsquo;s penalty problems mean Roberto Luongo has to make tougher saves than many NHL goalies.</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s late in the season with the playoffs on the line for the New York Rangers. Eric Lindros is prowling on the forecheck. When he goes to make a hit deep in the comer, his target defenseman loses an edge and slams into the boards. Lindros is given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. The Rangers give up two power play goals and lose the game.Improbable? Not at all. That exact play happened to Lindros at Madison Square Garden Oct. 15. The player catching the edge was Toronto&rsquo;s Wade Belak. New York killed off the penalty and won the game this time, but that&rsquo;s beside the point. It is just the kind of well-intentioned, but glaringly erroneous penalty call that could cost a team a playoff spot.Players have been given game misconducts for high sticking in similar circumstances when the actual culprit was a skate blade or a teammate&rsquo;s stick.It is worth pointing out, given the refereeing mistakes that will inevitably be part of the current penalty parade, that it doesn&rsquo;t have to be this way.The purpose of video replay is to make sure referees get critical calls right. Is a five-minute major and game misconduct in the first period to one of a team&rsquo;s key stars a crucial call? You bet.So why aren&rsquo;t major penalties subject to video review? For that matter, why aren&rsquo;t crucial offsides that lead to goals subject to a review from the boys upstairs either?The standard answer is a goal is a black-and-white decision&ndash;either the puck entered the net legally or it didn&rsquo;t&ndash;while a penalty is a judgement call. If we start reviewing judgment calls, the referees&rsquo; decisions and credibility are undermined.But according to the same logic, wouldn&rsquo;t they be undermined already?Granting referees (and video operators) the ability to review goals acknowledges the game can be too fast for the human eye; sometimes a referee doesn&rsquo;t have a proper perspective to get an accurate picture of what happened. Goals are no different.Instead of viewing replay as undermining referees, imagine it as a safeguard that lets everyone know justice is being served.How about this: Allow coaches one appeal of a non-fighting major penalty call per game. If upstairs video doesn&rsquo;t provide definitive evidence the call is wrong&ndash;as was roundly acknowledged in the Lindros case&ndash;the penalty stands. The same appeal procedure could hold for a goal scored directly after a potential offside play at the blueline.The downside? It would add some time to the game. With the success of the speedup faceoffs, time is the one thing the NHL has to give. &#9632;

f0005-01

Why not video review for majors?

Who was the NHL&rsquo;s best goalie last season? Well, Montreal&rsquo;s Jose Theodore ranked No. 1 in save percentage at.931, but player agent Gilles Lupien is not convinced. He says the stat needs to be broken down into regular strength SP and shorthanded SP. &ldquo;That would give you a more clear idea of how the goalie performs,&rdquo; Lupien said. &ldquo;It hardly seems fair that the goalie for a team that takes a lot of penalties has his save percentage measured against a goalie who plays for a team that doesn&rsquo;t take many penalties.&rdquo; Montreal played shorthanded an average of 6.2 minutes per game last season, third-least in the league. Florida, meanwhile, played shorthanded 8.2 minutes per game, third-highest in the NHL. That two-minute difference means Panther goalie (and Lupien client) Roberto Luongo in effect played more than two full games with his team down a man (or two) while Theodore was stopping pucks at even strength. Luongo had a.915 SP on the season while likely facing far tougher scoring chances than Theodore. Lupien has a point.STRAIGHT-BLADED THRASHING? Atlanta&rsquo;s Ilya Kovalchuk recorded his second career illegal stick penalty in his 67th NHL game, Oct. 12 versus Florida. The best way for Atlanta to ensure Kovalchuk doesn&rsquo;t use an illegal curve again is if his sticks don&rsquo;t have any curve at all&hellip;For crazy goal of the year, we like Washington&rsquo;s Peter Bondra. His shot went off the boards behind Nashville goalie Mike Dunham, back overtop of the goal, off Dunham&rsquo;s back and in, nothing but net&hellip;Speaking of crazy, check out the bounces off the seamedglass stanchions&hellip;The Minnesota Wild and the obstruction crackdown, a match made in heaven: That giggling sound you hear is coming from deep inside Jacques Lemaire&rsquo;s tummy&hellip;Is that Mario Lemieux out there penalty killing? Yup, the same guy who had 13 shorthanded goals in 1988-89. Happens to be a single season NHL record&hellip;Power plays were clicking at 18.1 per cent after 57 games compared to 15.1 at a similar point last year. Even so, scoring was up only marginally from 5.4 goals per game to 5.7. The snap conclusion: Five-on-five scoring is suffering because the top skill players are spending so much of their time on the power play&hellip;Marc Bergevin and Ian Moran are more than sometime defense partners. They&rsquo;re also lip-kissers. Egged on by the Air Canada Centre scoreboard in Toronto, the Pittsburgh pair smooched on the bench and received a rousing ovation. &#9632;

THN ONE-TIMERS

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN WOODLEY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012066/8092587-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Craighead</figcaption></div>When you make your living punching other people, tears are not normally an option. Crying isn&rsquo;t a part of the enforcer&rsquo;s code.When John Craighead starts to well up a little as he shares his story, however, it&rsquo;s easy to understand. After hearing what Craighead has battled through to keep his NHL dream alive, it&rsquo;s hard not to join him, especially when the 30-year-old training camp walk-on gets to the part where the Vancouver Canucks tell him that dream can come true.His mother, Rita, believed it all along.&ldquo;When I told her I would be offered a contract she was crying,&rdquo; said Craighead, who found out during an Oct. 12 game against San Jose that the Canucks would offer him a deal as soon as he recovers from a sore left shoulder.&ldquo;I really didn&rsquo;t even believe it myself, but she said to me there are people that are destined to be great and then there are those who are determined.&rdquo;Craighead clearly fits the determined category, but the way his life has come full circle makes it hard to believe destiny isn&rsquo;t also at work. Born in Virginia, his hockey dream started soon after moving to British Columbia with his mother and sister after his parents split up when he was three. At seven, Craighead saw former Canuck Dave &lsquo;Tiger&rsquo; Williams at a hockey camp and it wasn&rsquo;t long before every jersey had No. 22 on the back.&ldquo;It has kind of come full circle-I play for 10 years and then I finally get a shot and it&rsquo;s with the Canucks and my agent is Tiger,&rdquo; Craighead said.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s like it was meant to be, like this story was meant to be out there and for it to be my story to teach kids to be determined and to never give up on a dream.&rdquo;Craighead has chased that dream up and down the wing for 11 years, in 12 uniforms, through three countries on two continents. He tasted it once, for five short games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that was five years ago.Since then he has nurtured it through the death of his sister four years ago. She died of a drug overdose. He held it together when his best friend, the best man at his wedding, died in an electrical accident this summer. He kept it alive in Germany for the past four years, while his wife and two small children waited on the other side of the world for the dream to come home.Now it has and Craighead is holding on with both fists.In four pre-season games, he dropped the gloves six times and, at a mere 6-foot-l and 200 pounds, usually with a much larger opponent.He has taken his share of punches, but Craighead, who came into camp with a comic-book build and top-of-the-charts conditioning scores, always managed to hang on and score with late shots and the final takedown.He pinched a nerve in his shoulder during an exhibition game, but played through the pain for a full week, fighting again in his last exhibition appearance despite a &ldquo;dead arm&rdquo; sensation.&ldquo;Yeah it&rsquo;s a tough role, but there are a lot of other tougher jobs in this world that I&rsquo;d rather not be doing so I&rsquo;ll take this one,&rdquo; he said.Ignored by universities and undrafted after three years of Jr. A, Craighead started his pro career 10 years ago in Florida&rsquo;s Sunshine League. He fought his way into the East Coast League, where he bounced through four teams in two years, but did enough to interest Detroit of the International League.The Leafs were intrigued enough by his 653 penalty minutes in two seasons with Detroit to offer a contract for the 1996-97 season, but Toronto cut him after one year and he returned to the IHL.That&rsquo;s also when he lost his sister, Margaret, to the streets of Vancouver.&ldquo;They were just over one year apart and very close,&rdquo; said Rita Craighead. &ldquo;When they were younger, it was like, &lsquo;Yeah, John, when you play for the Canucks&hellip;&rsquo; so it was pretty tough, but he drew a lot of strength and turned it around positively.&rdquo;Instead of giving up, Craighead moved away from home and moved on with his career. He accepted an invitation from former Canuck Sergio Momesso to play in Germany, where he found time and space to heal away from the rink and a chance to finally show off a different kind of punch on it.&ldquo;I think it was more of a mental therapy for me more than anything to get away when my sister passed away,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s mostly why I went to Europe, not realizing what it was doing for my game, getting to skate and handle the puck.&rdquo;Craighead scored 31 goals in his final 148 games overseas, setting the stage for a return home that was finalized when Williams, now a close family friend and acting agent, secured a tryout.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a much better player than he was four or five years ago,&rdquo; said Vancouver assistant GM Dave Nonis. &ldquo;His skating has improved dramatically, he gets in on the forecheck and he has already earned the respect of the other players.&rdquo;Craighead knew he was a longshot to stick with a team that put up the best second-half record in the NHL after trading away resident tough guy Donald Brashear last year. His chances improved when the Canucks lost their only other hint of heavyweight toughness, Mike Brown, to Anaheim off the waiver wire recently, but he knows any contract offer will be a two-way deal.Craighead, who turns 31 on Nov. 23, knows he only has three or four good years left. He&rsquo;s already started a hockey school and is training some junior players, but he isn&rsquo;t ready to wake up.&ldquo;My sister said you can do whatever you want if you really want it bad enough and you believe it in your heart,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It takes a long time to build a dream and if you hold that dream long enough it&rsquo;s going to come true. And that&rsquo;s kind of what I&rsquo;ve based my whole life on.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0006-01

NHL dream lives on

<h2>Best of the Hockey World</h2>+ NO STOPPING HIM NOW After going goal-less in 70 games with Ottawa last season, Minnesota&rsquo;s Bill Muckalt nets three goals in four games.+ GO MARIO GO Mario Lemieux collects four goals and 10 points in three games after being held off the scoresheet in Pittsburgh&rsquo;s season opener.+ HERE&rsquo;S JOHNNY After recovering from back surgery in the off-season, Philadelphia&rsquo;s John LeClair begins 2002-03 with six goals in four games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021380/8092625-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="372" height="634"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bill Muckalt</figcaption></div><h2>Worst of the Hockey World</h2>- OUCH! Montreal goalie Jose Theodore, last year&rsquo;s MVP and Vezina Trophy winner, surrenders six goals in back-to-back home losses.- DING-DONG Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Chris Dingman is suspended two games for high-sticking Carolina&rsquo;s Jesse Boulerice.- NOTHING SPECIAL New Jersey (0-for-12 on the power play) and San Jose (five goals against in 16 shorthanded situations) struggle on special teams.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03809/8092618-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="376" height="636"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jose Theodore</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0006-02

PLUS MINUS

I never thought I&rsquo;d say it, but NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has done a good job. So far it looks like this season will be a good one for the league&rsquo;s goal-scorers.But what about the future? Are we going to have an action-packed couple of seasons, only to get shut down by a labor impasse in 2003-04?Come on, Mr. Bettman, resolve the collective bargaining agreement this season and get it over with!Joe Overlock,&nbsp; North Adams, Mass.<h2>Golf tougher than hockey?</h2>I just finished watching the game between the Flyers and Flames and I was incredibly disgusted with the officiating.Gary Bettman and the NHL has made it so you can&rsquo;t even look at a player the wrong way or you get penalized. They want to speed up the game, so they call 20 penalties a night-does that sound logical?You know it is a sad day in sports when there is more contact in golf than there is in hockeyTom Robinson,&nbsp; Calgary<h2>No room for swingers in NHL</h2>I love a physical, hard-fought hockey game. I love when players fight for the puck in the corners and crunch each other into the boards to gain position and advantage. The game is defined by skill and intimidation.However, there isn&rsquo;t room now&ndash;nor will there ever be&ndash;for stick-swinging thugs in hockey. It was wrong when Marty McSorley did it and is still wrong when Bill Guerin or Eric Lindros do it.Gordon Carlon,&nbsp; Bremerton, Wash.<h2>Wild&rsquo;s Lemaire one funny guy</h2>A few days ago I read about how Minnesota Wild coach Jacques Lemaire never advocated playing a clutch-and-grab style of play I&rsquo;m still laughing about that one.I read more and found out he also thinks the obstruction crackdown will actually help his team.Ha ha ha&hellip;please stop it, Jacques, you&rsquo;re killing me!Gil Hannebohn,&nbsp; Pasadena, Md. &#9632;

So far, Bettman doing well

Bravo to THN for a great article on Mark Messier. Messier is a true champion who has shown nothing but class and leadership throughout his prestigious career. (THN, Oct. 11)Michael McCartney,&nbsp; Lawrenceville, Ga.When Geoff Sanderson, Ray Whitney and Rick Nash start lighting it up with three-goal games this season, Blue Jackets fans sitting behind the netting won&rsquo;t be able to contribute to the hat trick celebrations. But at least there will be many!Pete Bauer,&nbsp; ColumbusElston rules! The comic about the Bill Guerin slashing incident is another classic, once again proving why Elston is the best cartoonist around. (THN, Oct. 18)Bruce Ellis,&nbsp; Gibbsboro, N.J.Does anyone else notice the Chicago Blackhawks are slowly turning into the Toronto Maple Leafs? Steve Thomas, Steve Sullivan, Alex Karpovtsev, Nathan Dempsey, Sergei Berezin&hellip;is this some sort of master plan?Madison Griffith,&nbsp; Guelph, Ont.I&rsquo;m sick and tired of THN&rsquo;s frontpage stories about the Rangers and Red Wings. What about the Blues, Islanders, Ducks, Hawks, Coyotes and everyone else?Kenneth Lecky,&nbsp; Summerside, PE. I.<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;

Messier a leader throughout career

Thanks to Jason Kay for the editorial concerning youth hockey and kudos to Anaheim&rsquo;s Dan Bylsma for his efforts to improve the state of youth hockey. (THN, Oct. 18)As the popularity of the game expands, it seems all parents think their children will play in the NHL.But youth hockey should be about playing the game and the life lessons that can be learned along the way, not about playing in the pros. Let the kids have fun and enjoy watching them.James Altman,&nbsp; Imperial, Pa.<h2>Canadian fans passionate</h2>I&rsquo;m taking advantage of the NHL Center Ice coverage I&rsquo;ve been receiving by watching teams such as Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver&ndash;you know, the teams we don&rsquo;t get to see in the United States.I&rsquo;ve discovered Canadians really love hockey. For example, one doesn&rsquo;t see NFL or baseball scores run along the bottom of the screen during televised games.The passion of Canadian fans makes me truly sorry the Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets left the Great White North for America.Richard Jenkins,&nbsp; North Wilkesboro, N.C.<h2>Super Mario should retire</h2>I&rsquo;ve never cared much for Mario Lemieux, but one has to feel sorry for him now. He insists on playing even though he cannot truly play the game any more.Yes, he has a great shot, but one look at the poor man lumbering up and down the ice and you know it is time to go. He can&rsquo;t play 60 or 70 games. He can shoot, but can&rsquo;t skate and is a liability on defense. Will anyone tell the owner he should give it up?Marilyn Hutchison,&nbsp; Kailua-Kona, Hawaii<h2>Lightning playoff-bound</h2>Year after year everyone criticizes the Tampa Bay Lightning, but this season will be different. With a team full of young, up-and-coming players led by Nikolai Khabibulin&ndash;one of the NHL&rsquo;s top goalies&ndash;the Bolts are headed for the playoffs this year.Jeffrey Herman,&nbsp; Lakeland, Fla.<h2>Got something to say?</h2>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:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:proteaua@transcontinental.ca">proteaua@transcontinental.ca</a> or visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a>. Include name, hometown, province/state and phone number. Submissions will be edited. &#9632;

Anaheim’s Bylsma on right path

<div class="byline">BY CHUCK CARLTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011953/8092766-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"></div>The sales pitch was equal parts enticement and audacity.C&rsquo;mon guys, just sign on the dotted line and help us try to win a Stanley Cup or two in the next 24 months.If the offer was coming from Detroit or Colorado it might have been expected, but this talk was coming from the Dallas Stars, a few months after missing the playoffs, firing the winningest coach in franchise history and bidding adieu to the key architects of a Stanley Cup.Many people thought the Stars would fade back into the Sun Belt sunset. GM Doug Armstrong took a different view. He outlined the case for cutting back and the case for going for glory before the collective bargaining agreement expires in 2004. With the financial commitment of owner Tom Hicks, the Stars opted to go for it.&ldquo;We decided we wanted to compete with the teams at the top that we feel have a chance to win the Stanley Cup the next two seasons,&rdquo; Armstrong said.The Stars&rsquo; mindset was more mission statement than braggadocio. After the first few games of the regular season, the faith in the returning players and the talent treasure trove acquired in the off-season indicate they made the right choice.Dallas Stars hockey is back, with a major facelift that would make Jerry Jones envious. The team was unbeaten in its first four games before falling Oct. 17 to Minnesota 3-1. It was the team&rsquo;s quickest start since 1996-97.Take away the uniform and you see a team that whips the puck around, makes plays through the neutral zone and invites defensemen to join the rush. Insert the uniform and you wonder what alien force has taken over Dallas&rsquo;s players. Under rookie coach Dave Tippett, the Stars are playing an offensive style that would have sent Ken Hitchcock scampering for antacid.Tippett, who won a Turner Cup with the International League&rsquo;s Houston Aeros before spending three years as an assistant in Los Angeles, has been meticulously organized and unafraid to consult the players. He held a team meeting to make sure people didn&rsquo;t misinterpret his system.&ldquo;First of all, you&rsquo;re dealing with perceptions,&rdquo; Tippett said. &ldquo;The perception that everybody created saying we&rsquo;re going to be the Harlem Globetrotters of hockey is the wrong perception. We had to get that all out on the table. You lay all your cards out and pick the few you want to be the most successful.&rdquo;Players have noticed the difference between the contemplative Tippett and the combustible Hitchcock.<h2>CHANGES ARE IN THE STARS</h2>Dallas has made several significant organizational changes since the start of last season. Here are the Stars&rsquo; most notable mores over the past 12 months:<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011805/8092759-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="1079" height="874"></div>&ldquo;We know if we make a mistake that when we get back to the bench we might get some teaching instead of a lashing,&rdquo; forward Brenden Morrow said.Bill Guerin, the key free-agent pickup, was only pushing for the league lead in a handful of offensive categories. And that after leading the league in TV replays during training camp, thanks to high two-hander on prospect Brett Draney.Goaltender Marty Turco has shown the two years spent behind Ed Belfour was merely an apprenticeship.Even with Jason Arnott sidelined with a sprained ankle, the Stars are showing forward depth reminiscent of the late 1990s, and a work ethic to match the talent level.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a great team on paper,&rdquo; Guerin said. &ldquo;The thing is figuring out, finding out where things go. We&rsquo;ve got to do our best to come together as a team on the ice, but it takes time also. It&rsquo;s not just &lsquo;Sign guys, trade for guys, put them on the ice and they&rsquo;re great.&rsquo; You have to work on it together.&rdquo;For a player who has recorded 81 goals the past two seasons and who signed a five-year, $45-million contract over the summer, Guerin&rsquo;s theory of success is simple.&ldquo;Our talent only comes out if we work hard,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a talented bunch of guys, but sort of a blue-collar team. We have to realize that and check our egos at the door when we come to the rink.&rdquo;In his home debut, Guerin notched two goals and two assists while fighting Anaheim tough guy Kevin Sawyer. The slash on Draney, which occurred the first day of training camp, but didn&rsquo;t make headline until being shown on TSN in Canada, is all but forgotten.Guerin represents the Stars&rsquo; change of fortunes from a year ago at this time. After three games, Guerin was leading the league in points. After three games last season, top summer acquisition Donald Audette was already a healthy scratch.The difference, according to Armstrong, is that in the summer of 2001 the Stars never got a chance to talk to their top targets, Jeremy Roenick and John LeClair. This season, the Stars were able to use Plan A so effectively it may change the way other teams pursuit free agents.Hicks, Armstrong, Tippett and Guy Carbonneau personally ventured to Boston on July 1 on a recruiting mission aimed at Guerin, Scott Young and Tony Amonte. Forget cell phones; the Stars jumped up the technology ladder with personalized DVDs, setting the standard for other teams to emulate.The Stars not only signed Guerin, but landed Young, Ulf Dahlen, enforcer Aaron Downey and defenseman Philippe Boucher at a total of slightly more than $15 million for this season.As much as the newcomers have gotten the spotlight, holdover forwards like Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen and the top four defensemen from the 1999 Stanley Cup winner remain in place.&ldquo;We have a core of our group that are in the prime of their careers,&rdquo; Armstrong said. &ldquo;Our job is to give that group the best chance they have to win.&rdquo;Even given the turmoil of last season, the Stars were still a 90-point team. Whether they can ride the early-season momentum back into a top three seed in the Western Conference and beyond remains to be seen.The last rookie coach to win a Stanley Cup was Montreal&rsquo;s Jean Perron in 1986. That was also the last season that a first-year starter in goal, in this case Patrick Roy, delivered a championship.The Stars still may have one too many quality centers in Modano, Arnott and Pierre Turgeon. The defense is not exactly quick and could be hampered by obstruction rules. Hicks, for reasons unrelated to the hockey team, has put the team on the market just a few months after his summer shopping spree.So far, little has distracted the Stars. The players seem to have learned from their mistakes, at least when it comes to team chemistry.&ldquo;Everybody really seems to be really meshing well,&rdquo; said Derian Hatcher, the fourth-longest serving captain in the NHL. &ldquo;No one is clashing. It&rsquo;s like we&rsquo;ve known each other a long longer than we have.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-01

COVER STORY

GOIN’ FOR IT!

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Chuck Carlton</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021240/8092797-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARTY TURCO</figcaption></div>Credit or blame Marty Turco&rsquo;s unique goaltending style on literal thinking.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s an evolution of bad habits and raw athletic ability,&rdquo; Turco said, smiling. &ldquo;A coach told me one time, &lsquo;Stop the puck.&rsquo; I still use that philosophy. If you had seen me in college, on 10 different shots I would stop them 10 different ways. Now on 10 different shots, I have five different ways to stop it. I&rsquo;m progressively getting better.&rdquo; At times, Turco can be a goaltending version of a Labrador retriever, bounding out of his net to pursue and play the puck. He&rsquo;ll poke-check and meet opposing players near the blueline.He still stops the puck. After winning two NCAA titles at Michigan, no goaltender has a better save percentage or a lower goals-against average since Turco entered the NHL in 2000.His opening 40-save performance against Colorado and Patrick Roy this season validated the Stars&rsquo; belief that Turco was ready to replace Ed Belfour. After four games, he had allowed just five goals with a.955 save percentage.For all Belfour&rsquo;s quirks and decline, the decision to let him walk as a free agent was difficult for the Stars, but one they felt they had to make. Turco, at age 27, deserved a chance. And by cutting lose Belfour at $6 million a year and keeping Turco at $850,000, the Stars gained enough payroll room to be major players in the free agent market. The Stars also added veteran Ron Tugnutt and brought in Andy Moog as a goaltending coach, just for insurance.Turco&rsquo;s buddy from Michigan, Denver Broncos quarterback Brian Griese, knows all about big shoes to fill. And he thinks Turco has the right stuff for the job.&ldquo;I think Marty has the mental toughness to get through it,&rdquo; Griese said. &ldquo;There are going to be some ups and downs and I&rsquo;ve told him this. I&rsquo;ve said to him that throughout his career people will expect a lot out of him because it&rsquo;s been an organization that has won a Stanley Cup and there has been a great goalie in front of him for a couple years.&ldquo;So, the expectation level is high, but I think that Marty understands that the expectation level he has for himself is even higher. That&rsquo;s why I think he&rsquo;ll be fine.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-02

STOPPER TURCO STEPPING UP

<div class="byline">BY MARK BRENDER &#x2022; Contributing Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021400/8092835-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sweating in Wild West Tony Amonte already has the title of hardest-working Coyote.</figcaption></div>A few months ago, Tony Amonte didn&rsquo;t personally know a single player on the Phoenix Coyotes roster. He had never been on the same team as any of them, any time, any place. Yet the more he thought about the idea of playing in Phoenix, the more he came to believe it might be a perfect fit.He believes it still, though the evidence has been slow in coming. Phoenix had one win in its first five games and the bigname free agent acquisition had yet to score in any of them. Those lofty aspirations of forging ahead to the second round of the playoffs and beyond on the back of the new gunslinger are getting an early reality check.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not going to be easier (than last year),&rdquo; said Phoenix captain Teppo Numminen,&rdquo;and everybody knows that.&rdquo;But surely it can get easier than this. It&rsquo;s not as though Amonte was feeling entirely left out from the Coyote pack. In fact, he said he has never been treated better in his life than in his dealings with GM Mike Barnett over the summer. Barnett&rsquo;s up-front, no-pressure style&ndash;here&rsquo;s our best contract offer, think about it as long as you want, let us know when you&rsquo;ve made up your mind&ndash;was one of the main things that landed Amonte in Phoenix, a place no one, least of all the player himself, ever thought he&rsquo;d be.Still, the feeling-out process in Arizona takes some time. Amonte just has the nagging feeling that everyone else is right and he&rsquo;s not left out, but, well&hellip;left.These things do matter. His old Chicago center Alexei Zhamnov shot and passed from the left side. Ditto his sometimes center Michael Nylander. Amonte&rsquo;s early new pivot in Phoenix, Daniel Briere, shoots right. It&rsquo;s a tougher play for Briere to feed the puck to Amonte, a left-shooting right winger, than to the other member of Phoenix&rsquo;s top line, right-shooting left winger Shane Doan.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t played with a right-handed shot in five or six years since J.R. (Jeremy Roenick) left (Chicago),&rdquo; Amonte said.So in Phoenix&rsquo;s fifth game, against Toronto, he didn&rsquo;t. Coach Bobby Francis put him with left-shooting center Daymond Langkow and left winger Ladislav Nagy. It was the same disappointing result.After five games, Phoenix had just four even-strength goals. All the special teams play has prevented the big line&ndash;meaning whichever line Amonte is on&ndash;from finding a 5-on-5 rhythm.&ldquo;We know we haven&rsquo;t produced,&rdquo; Briere said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re still learning about each other. I&rsquo;m still trying to figure out what he likes doing and where he&rsquo;s going to be on the ice.&rdquo;If anything, Briere and Doan were looking to get the puck to Amonte too much, perhaps to the detriment of their own performance.&ldquo;We talked about that,&rdquo; Amonte said. &ldquo;I just want those guys to be themselves and play their own game, don&rsquo;t worry about me.&rdquo;Not many people do. The end-of-season numbers show he is nearly as consistent on the scoresheet as he is showing up for games&ndash;at an NHL-high 415 in a row (as of Oct. 17) and counting. The 31-year-old has hit the 30-goal mark eight times in 10 full NHL seasons.Amonte&rsquo;s blue-collar ethic preceded him in Phoenix and he has done nothing to diminish it in the eyes of teammates or the coaching staff, who insist the team&rsquo;s best-paid player is already its hardest-working. And, perhaps, its most honest.Amonte signed a four-year, $24million (U.S.) contract with the Coyotes in the summer after other options&ndash;including Dallas, Toronto and, of course, Chicago&ndash;fell through. He doesn&rsquo;t pretend Phoenix was his first choice. Truth is, he never wanted to leave Chicago and wouldn&rsquo;t have had to, he believes, if not for Hawks GM Mike Smith. He said he knew after a meeting with Smith last Thanksgiving that he was as good as gone.&ldquo;It just wasn&rsquo;t going to work with Mike Smith there, it just wasn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Amonte said. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t one of his guys&hellip;Am I unhappy? Hell, no. I&rsquo;m thrilled to be in Phoenix.&rdquo;After all, for the first time in his life, he can come home from the rink at 5 o&rsquo;clock (in shorts) to his new house (ranch-style, one storey, goes on forever), turn on the tube and watch six hours of hockey.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a big bonus,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can watch two games a night, no problem. I love to watch. I watch every night at home. Drives my wife crazy.&rdquo;There are some things Arizonan Amonte still doesn&rsquo;t understand, like how people in Phoenix seem to think he and ex-Coyote Roenick are so alike. He shakes his head at that one. They&rsquo;ll learn.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re becoming more knowledgeable every day,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They know the difference between winning and losing, that&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;And Amonte scoring and not scoring. And realizing that the two are closely intertwined.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011924/8092828-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="553" height="932"></div> &#9632;

f0010-02

Coyotes howl for Amonte

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03869/8092873-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04592/8092866-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="286" height="377"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jay Greenberg Columnist</figcaption></div>Idon&rsquo;thaveawholelotoftimeto-discusstheNHL&rsquo;snewfastfaceoffs.It took too long to write the column about how the Blue Jackets don&rsquo;t believe in quick fixes, so I gotta do this one fast or blink and miss tonight&rsquo;s game.Somebody decided games were too long, so they took out the replays and left in the commercials. And my fast opinion is that theyhurriedintoan-unnecessarydecision.Like Jyrki Lumme, I don&rsquo;t like to be rushed. The NHL already had a 60-minute clock to its games, provided its officials with rules to control excessive dawdling and last season kept the time between the opening faceoff and final buzzer to two hours and 36 minutes, a nice night out. Why was it necessary to suddenly equip linesmen with cattle prods?Look, from the standpoint of my job, five seconds for the visiting team to make a change, eight seconds for the home team to counter, then five seconds to drop the puck is the greatest timesaver since the Caps gassed Bernie Wolfe, cutting hours off the time required to fish pucks out of the net. So if the NHL wants to play its games faster than Mike Milbury can blow a fuse, it&rsquo;s fine with me.Otherwise, the complaints we&rsquo;ve heard from fans almost completely center on the bad teams they watch. To our knowledge, nobody dishing out $25 to $125 for a regular season seat has ever called Ralph Nader in outrage at being kept in it 16 minutes longer than he wanted to be.When and where was this groundswell for games being too long? They have become too slow, certainly, during portions of actual playing time, which, theoretically, is what new rules to resume the action are supposed to be about. But dropping the puck at warp speed for two trapping teams is going to have scant effect on the caliber of play Because there are so many more power plays in this early stage of another obstruction crackdown, the players you most want to see are still getting out there a lot. But assuming the standards of enforcement will change as they always do at playoff time, the more physically demanding post-season may still require more of Wayne Primeau and less of Mario Lemieux.At the Olympics, one world-class player replaced another, so the games would have been good even with smoke and vodka breaks at every stoppage. Thus, despite this initial enthusiasm for linesmen throwing pucks down faster than Rick Dudley can leave town, is it really the best thing in the long run to eliminate a little prefaceoff fidgeting? What for? To get kids home 16 minutes earlier on a school night? The cost of tickets already had locked families out of arenas. To bed earlier for high-powered corporate clients? That has been taken care of with the 7 o&rsquo;clock start.In the arena, there remain three TV timeouts per period to smell the popcorn, search the benches for the angst and joy on the faces, or talk to your buddy about the last play If, arguably, that still provides plenty of time to fill the senses, at home all they get is the same number of commercials and a lot fewer, shorter, and less revealing replays.We know through experience that not every NHL change has been well-considered. This one comes down to the pace we want to live our lives. But I love the game and, except in extreme cases where the officials weren&rsquo;t doing their job, never looked at periods between faceoffs as dead time, more as quality down time.I liked taking a deep breath along with the players. It was an opportunity to reflect on what I&rsquo;d already seen and build suspense towards what&rsquo;s coming next, not meaning the ride home. &#9632;

f0010-03

NHL should slow down on hurry-up

<div class="byline">THN STAFF</div>The late Harold Ballard is the focus of a new round of sex abuse charges at Maple Leaf Gardens.In the latest accusations, three Toronto men say they were sexually abused as boys at the Gardens. One plaintiff claims the Toronto Maple Leaf owner knew abuse was taking place at the arena and that Ballard asked him to perform a sex act.The allegations are made in one of at least three civil suits filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. They involve claims against convicted sex offenders John Paul Roby and Gordon Stuckless.The men, who range in age from 40 to 61, are seeking in excess of $1 million in damages from Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owners of the NHL team.One plaintiff claims he was sexually assaulted from the age of 11 until he was 15 by Roby and Stuckless, former employees at the Gardens. He said Ballard walked in during one sexual assault in a ticket office and sexually propositioned him.&ldquo;When he hesitated,&rdquo; said lawyer Loretta Merritt, who represents two of the three men,&rdquo;Ballard ordered him out of the room, told him to leave Maple Leaf Gardens and never come back, and threatened to call the police if he didn&rsquo;t leave immediately&rdquo;The allegations have not been proven.Ballard died in 1990. Roby was previously convicted of 35 sexual offenses against 27 teens and declared a dangerous offender. He died in jail in 2001. Stuckless was sentenced in 1998 to two years less a day in jail after admitting to assaulting 26 boys. The sentence was increased later to five years. He is now on parole and believed to be living in a halfway house in Toronto.Maple Leafs president Ken Dryden said he was shocked by the latest revelations, but not surprised.&ldquo;It takes a long time for abuse cases to come forward,&rdquo; Dryden said. &ldquo;This one, I understand, was over 30 years ago, so you just don&rsquo;t know&hellip;All you can say is &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t know and you know (what happened),&rsquo; and that&rsquo;s why we have a court.&rsquo;&rdquo;Dryden worked closely with abuse survivors and support groups following a string of assault accusations against team employees in the late 1990s, for cases dating as far back as the 1970s.<h2>Hey, Mom! I&rsquo;m in the NHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021223/8092911-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="780" height="1783"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011707/8092904-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1519" height="813"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fans in Calgary got more than they bargained for when a streaker scaled the glass near the penalty box and hopped onto the ice Oct. 17. The streaker was knocked unconscious he dinned and hit his head on the ice. He was covered and carried off on a stretcher.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0011-02

Ballard named in new sex abuse charges

<div class="byline">THN STAFF</div>Former NHL defenseman Dave Babych is seeking $2.3 million in lost earnings and other unspecified damages for pain and suffering.Babych, 41, testified in court he was pressured to play in a 1998 playoff game with Philadelphia while injured, aggravating a broken foot. Lawyers for Comcast-Spectacor, owner of the Flyers, said Babych received sound medical advice.OWNER SLAIN The owner of the Khimik Voskresensk team in Russia was shot to death near his home in Moscow. Andrei Trifonov, 34, was killed when two men opened fire on his car outside his home.SNIPER BAN The NHL has stopped selling team hats known as &lsquo;sniper caps&rsquo; because of the deadly shootings in the Washington area. The hats were marketed to glorify top scorers on NHL teams.CORRECTION The Oct. 18 issue of THN incorrectly identified ESPN/ABC Sports lead hockey producer Lowell MacDonald as a former NHLer. He is in fact the son of the former pro player and a former collegian at Colgate himself. &#9632;

Babych vs. Flyers in court

<div class="byline">BY ALAN ADAMS</div>Wayne Gretzky will be back to help Canada defend its Olympic title in 2006, and is leaning towards running Canada&rsquo;s entry in the 2004 World Cup.Attending an Oct. 16 Hall of Fame ceremony celebrating Canada&rsquo;s gold medalwinning men&rsquo;s team, Gretzky reiterated that the only way he won&rsquo;t be at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy, is if NHL players don&rsquo;t participate.&ldquo;I think if we are going to go to the Olympics, we should take our best players. If we don&rsquo;t send our best, then I do not want to be part of it,&rdquo; he said.As for the World Cup, Gretzky wants to see whether he has the time to commit to running Team Canada. Gretzky is managing partner of the Phoenix Coyotes.<h2>Blues defender Pronger might miss entire season</h2>According to reports, St. Louis defenseman Chris Pronger was scheduled for reconstructive wrist surgery that could force him to miss the entire 2002-03 season.Pronger&rsquo;s wrist, which had already been operated on last May, was not responding to rehabilitation. A portion of the procedure, scheduled for Oct. 21 in Baltimore, will see the removal of the plates that were inserted in Pronger&rsquo;s wrist during the May operation. He might return by mid-March at the earliest, or not at all. &#9632;

Gretzky back for Olympics

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021477/8092997-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="628" height="1920"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011876/8093004-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="216" height="223"></div>NHL captains are listed in order of seniority. Alternates are in italics. Atlanta, Columbus and Minnesota plan to rotate the &lsquo;C&rsquo;, while Florida hasn&rsquo;t named a captain.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03955/8092990-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="1164" height="1333"><figcaption class="caption-body">New Boston captain Joe Thornton greets former captain Ray Bourque, who wore the &lsquo;C&rsquo;for 15 seasons from 1985-86 to 1999-2000.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0012-02

Recent expansion teams try passing around ‘C’

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04563/8093035-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="216" height="221"></div>Mighty Ducks of Anaheim rookie left winger Stanislav Chistov experienced the ups and downs of NHL life in his first week.Six nights after becoming the youngest player in history to register four points in his NHL debut, the league&rsquo;s early season rookie scoring leader was a healthy scratch when the Ducks dropped a 4-2 decision to the visiting Los Angeles Kings Oct. 16.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no questioning his talent,&rdquo; said first-year Anaheim coach Mike Babcock. &ldquo;We need this guy to become a player. What we&rsquo;re saying is how do we get him to the light at the end of the tunnel the quickest? We think doing this with him is a key.&rdquo;Chistov, 19, debuted with a goal and three assists in a 4-3 road victory over the St. Louis Blues Oct. 10, but went pointless in the next two games, losses to the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings. In the process, he strayed a bit from Babcock&rsquo;s system.The fifth overall selection in the 2001 entry draft, Chistov attributed some of his problems to fatigue stemming from a busy schedule that called for three games in four nights.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not used to playing so many games,&rdquo; he said.EUROPEAN IMPACT With the addition of Chistov and fellow rookie winger Alexei Smirnov, as well as backup goaltender Martin Gerber, defenseman Fredrik Olausson and right winger Petr Sykora, the Ducks opened the season with 10 Europeans.Five of Anaheim&rsquo;s eight defensemen hailed from across the Atlantic, including Ruslan Salei and Vitaly Vishnevski who provide much of the club&rsquo;s physical play. Olausson and, to a lesser extent, Niclas Havelid are counted on for offensive support and puck movement. Pavel Trnka opened the season on the injured-reserve list because of a strained groin muscle. Right winger Patric Kjellberg fills a third-line, penalty-killing role.NOTEBOOK The Ducks obtained left winger Mike Brown on waivers from Vancouver Oct. 11. Center Jason Krog cleared waivers Oct. 15 and was assigned to Cincinnati of the American League&hellip;Anaheim changed its scheduled 5 p.m. faceoff Oct. 20 against Colorado to 1 p.m. to avoid a conflict with Game 2 of the World Series between the hometown Angels and San Francisco Giants at neighboring Edison Field. &#9632;

f0012-04

Tired Chistov slips after brilliant start

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Jeff Schultz</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-05406/8093066-1-eng-US/f0012-052.jpg" title="f0012-05" width="216" height="222"></div>Shawn McEachern is the first in a rotation of four players to wear the &lsquo;C&rsquo; as captain of the Atlanta Thrashers, which means he usually is the first of four players who, more or often than not, will be nominated to explain what&rsquo;s going wrong.The Thrashers had three losses after three games (including one OT loss) and the biggest problem was defense. They gave up 13 goals&ndash;a 4.33 goals-against average&ndash;and allowed opponents an average of 37.3 shots per game. Opponents also had scored five power play goals, in part because Atlanta&rsquo;s defensive lapses left the Thrashers playing shorthanded an average of eight times per game.Against Florida, the Thrashers led 4-3 in the third, but lost in overtime 5-4. The loss ruined an early season highlight for McEachern&ndash;a hat trick in his regular season home debut as a Thrasher.&ldquo;When you have a young team, you have to get confidence playing with a lead,&rdquo; McEachern said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t have to be a world-beater. You just have to get the puck out and let the other team make a mistake. That&rsquo;s what older teams do. You just have to learn the hard way sometimes.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of offensive talent. But the way we&rsquo;ll win games is by buying into the defensive system and sticking with it for the whole game. If you don&rsquo;t, you won&rsquo;t win.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT The Thrashers again rank among league leaders with 13 Europeans among the 24 players. They are spread among six countries, led by four Russians (Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov, Yuri Butsayev, rookie Kirill Safronov) and four Czechs (Milan Hnilicka, Patrik Stefan, Richard Smehlik, Frantisek Kaberle). Both goalies are Euros (Hnilicka and Finn Pasi Nurminen) as are the top three defensemen (Swede Daniel Tjarnqvist, Smehlik and Kaberle).NOTEBOOK An illegal stick penalty taken by left winger Ilya Kovalchuk cost the Thrashers in a 5-4 OT loss to Florida. Kovalchuk, caught with an illegally curved blade, was fined $200 by the league and $500 by the team&hellip;Defenseman Uwe Krupp&rsquo;s tenure in Atlanta got off to a bad start. He played the opener, then was expected to miss at least the next six games with a sore back. &#9632;

f0012-05

McEachern scores, but Thashers struggle

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Nancy Marrapese-Burrell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-06330/8093097-1-eng-US/f0012-062.jpg" title="f0012-06" width="218" height="222"></div>When Steve Shields was traded to Boston during the off-season, he was thrilled to join an Original Six franchise.He felt he could challenge for the No. 1 job left open by the departure of Byron Dafoe to unrestricted free agency. But Shields had no idea he would make his debut in Black and Gold under less than ideal circumstances. His first action came in the Bruins&rsquo; third game of the season&ndash;in Vancouver&ndash;replacing starter John Grahame who suffered a shoulder injury.Shields allowed two goals on seven shots in the second period, but then stopped all nine he faced in the third on the way to earning his first victory.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a fun situation to come into, especially for my first game in how many months?&rdquo; Shields said. &ldquo;The guys played really well. After the two goals, we kept them pretty much to the outside, except for a couple of giveaways. Other than that, we were really good.&rdquo;Having his baptism by fire wasn&rsquo;t what he had in mind. However, he was prepared.&ldquo;Every time you sit on that bench there are going to be times when you&rsquo;re going to have to go in there,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So you&rsquo;ve got to be prepared at all times. You have to be really focused on what&rsquo;s going on because you can be thrown in there any second.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT Half the members of the top two lines hail from overseas. Left winger Sergei Samsonov, one of the most dynamic skaters in the league, cut his teeth playing in the International League in Detroit before being drafted by Boston eighth overall in 1997. Center Jozef Stumpel of Slovakia is on his second incarnation as a Bruin, originally drafted by Boston at No. 40 overall in 1991. One of the best defensive forwards and penalty killers on the club is Swede RJ. Axelsson, who brings a strong work ethic and durability.NOTEBOOK Left winger Sergei Samsonov became just the third Bruin in franchise history to score a game-winning goal at 19:59 of the third period when the Bruins beat Colorado 2-1 Oct. 14. Samsonov joined John Bucyk (Feb. 22,1968 at Detroit) and Ray Bourque (Dec. 4,1986 vs. Quebec) in accomplishing the feat. &#9632;

f0012-06

Shields takes over to get first Bruin win

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Bucky Gleason</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011716/8093135-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="220" height="224"></div>The Buffalo Sabres kept eight defensemen on the roster to open the season with the idea of rotating their younger players into the lineup. One problem: James Patrick has played so well at age 39, they can&rsquo;t get him out of the lineup.Patrick was the No. 7 defensemen last year, but he played the first four games of 2002-03 while 23-year-olds Brian Campbell and Dmitri Kalinin watched from the press box. Patrick has no plans to surrender his spot. &ldquo;There are some young guys here and around the league who are good players and are ready to play&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But they gotta earn it. I&rsquo;m going to work as hard as I can to make them earn it.&rdquo;Patrick outplayed his younger teammates in camp. Campbell was one of the Sabres&rsquo; best players down the stretch last season. Kalinin, a top-four blueliner last season, was sent to Rochester for a brief American League stint before being recalled.Patrick is one of 14 defensemen who have played more than 1,100 NHL games (1,156 entering 2002-03) and recorded more than 600 points (612). He has a two-year contract, which he says will probably be his last before he retires.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t seen any signs of him slowing down,&rdquo; said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.EUROPEAN IMPACT Miroslav Satan has led the Sabres in scoring for the past five seasons while Vaclav Varada has been their best forechecker for the last three.Both are symbolic for what the Sabres want to accomplish this season. They&rsquo;re looking for more scoring from a tougher lineup. They have eight Europeans on the roster, including gifted Russians Maxim Afinogenov and Alexei Zhitnik. Afinogenov has been battling a concussion and will find newcomers Jochen Hecht and rookie Henrik Tallinder when he returns to the lineup.The Sabres believe Hecht should score 20 goals and Tallinder will become a solid defenseman for many years.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021200/8093128-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="233" height="285"><figcaption class="caption-body">James Patrick</figcaption></div>NOTEBOOK Coach Lindy Ruff wasn&rsquo;t concerned after right winger Rob Ray took a double-minor and defenseman Alexei Zhitnik was called for interference, leading to Eric Lindros scoring two quick goals Oct. 17 in a 4-4 tie with the Rangers. &ldquo;Emotion and energy in those types of penalties, even though foolish at times, is something we&rsquo;re going to tinker with, not reprimand,&rdquo; Ruff said&hellip;Center Tim Connolly, entering his fourth NHL season at age 21, had three goals and five points in his first four games&hellip;Defenseman Jay McKee on the NHL&rsquo;s mandate for partition glass: &ldquo;For us defensemen, it&rsquo;s a gift from God.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0013-01

Patrick’s stellar play prevents Sabres rookies from gaining experience

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03878/8093173-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="218" height="224"></div>He had a difficult first season as a Calgary Flame and followed it up with an ordinary training camp and then two do-nothing games to begin 2002-03. Center Rob Niedermayer was struggling badly and finally, after much consideration, coach Greg Gilbert opted to do something that hadn&rsquo;t happened to Niedermayer since his rookie season in the NHL&ndash;he made him a healthy scratch.Niedermayer, at $2.1 million, is the Flames&rsquo; fourth-highest paid player, but hasn&rsquo;t produced the way the team imagined when they acquired him from Florida in exchange for Valeri Bure and Jason Wiemer in June, 2001.Niedermayer, with zero points and a minus-3 rating, sat out mid-October games against Vancouver and Boston.&ldquo;It is frustrating,&rdquo; Niedermayer said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to be a negative distraction on the team, but right now, as a player, I don&rsquo;t want to be sitting out.&rdquo;Even after Niedermayer scored only six times last season, the Flames projected him as a top-six forward on the team, the primary reason they issued him a generous qualifying offer in July.&ldquo;I think Robbie is trying,&rdquo; Gilbert said,&rdquo;but maybe he doesn&rsquo;t have a grasp of what his assets are and how to best use them. He&rsquo;s big, a great skater and strong on the puck. We need to see more of that.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT The Flames were at the forefront of the NHL&rsquo;s European invasion many years ago, but they have just four players from overseas. Of that number, one&ndash;Mattias Johansson&ndash;is a 28-year-old first-year player cast mainly in a checking role. A second&ndash;Petr Buzek&ndash;is playing as Calgary&rsquo;s fifth defenseman.The two most important Europeans on the Flames are goalie Roman Turek, and Toni Lydman, a Finnish defender who, in the absence of the traded Derek Morris, is playing more than any other Calgary blueliner.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-04729/8093166-1-eng-US/f0013-042.jpg" title="f0013-04" width="237" height="287"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rob Niedermayer</figcaption></div>NOTEBOOK After suffering a concussion in the next-to-last exhibition game&ndash;courtesy of an elbow by Edmonton&rsquo;s Dan Cleary&ndash;rookie defenseman Jordan Leopold missed the first four games of the regular season. Leopold officially received medical clearance to play Oct. 17, but coach Greg Gilbert opted to keep him out of the lineup for that night&rsquo;s game against Boston to get his conditioning back to a higher level&hellip;A pair of rookies, defenseman Micki DuPont and right winger Chuck Kobasew, each scored their first NHL goals in a 3-2 Oct. 14 win over the Vancouver Canucks&hellip;Dupont was sent to Saint John (AHL) Oct. 18, setting the stage for Leopold&rsquo;s NHL debut. &#9632;

f0013-03

As frustration mounts, slumping Niedermayer in Gilbert’s doghouse

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Luke DeCock</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011858/8093211-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="218" height="220"></div>Like so many Eastern Conference champions before them, the Carolina Hurricanes are finding recapturing the magic of their playoff run isn&rsquo;t easy.Five games into the season, the Canes had only one win and three points&ndash;with only four goals in their four losses.&ldquo;This is not the start you want to get off to,&rdquo; said captain Ron Francis. &ldquo;The last two games we&rsquo;ve played pretty well, but we&rsquo;re not getting it done.&rdquo;Carolina opened the season 4-for-38 on the power play, had been outscored 16-9 and went three games without scoring an even-strength goal.&ldquo;The breaks aren&rsquo;t going for us right now, that&rsquo;s obvious,&rdquo; said coach Paul Maurice said. &ldquo;We have to be a little more determined in some areas.&rdquo;The Canes&rsquo; big guns weren&rsquo;t getting the job done. Sami Kapanen had two goals in his past 34 regular season and playoff games&ndash;none this season&ndash;while Jeff O&rsquo;Neill, who scored 72 goals the past two seasons, had just four assists.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021405/8093204-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="235" height="286"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sami Kapanen</figcaption></div>EUROPEAN IMPACT That Arturs Irbe was part of the first all-Euro goalie final matchup last year was only one of the highlights of last season&rsquo;s playoff run.Another was the play of young Czech roommates Josef Vasicek and Jaroslav Svoboda. Both 22, they are expected to contribute plenty of offense this season. Svoboda, who played 23 games in the playoffs and 10 in the regular season, is a Calder candidate who has worked his way up to the Canes&rsquo; top line.NOTEBOOK The fans are having trouble picking up their vibe from last season as well. The Canes have gone from an openingnight sellout to 13,962 to 10,597 in three home games&hellip;Kevin Weekes was making a strong bid for the No. 1 goalie job ahead of Arturs Irbe. Weekes appeared in four straight games. &#9632;

f0014-01

Eastern champions stumble out of gate

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04673/8093242-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="487" height="946"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOP HAWK Alexei Zhamnov replaces Tony Amonte as the 33rd captain in Blackhawk history He&rsquo;s the first non-North American to lead Chicago.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03974/8093249-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="215" height="225"></div>It seemed like a good idea at the time to Bob Probert&ndash;put on a little extra muscle during the off-season in order to handle some of the league&rsquo;s young scrappers.He should have run it by coach Brian Sutter first, though.Sutter said Probert wouldn&rsquo;t see the ice for the Blackhawks until the 37-year-old left winger lost the 20 extra pounds he reported to training camp sporting.Probert showed up at 240 pounds, about 15 pounds over his playing weight from last season, and it slowed him down considerably.&ldquo;All you&rsquo;ve got to do is watch practice,&rdquo; Sutter said.Probert started the season on the injured reserve list with a mysterious groin injury.&ldquo;He has got to be in game shape,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;Hey, he tried something. Probie has done a lot of special things in his career, but when you get older you&rsquo;ve got to adjust to what&rsquo;s going on. I know as you get older you should be dropping weight. Added strength does no good if you can&rsquo;t get there.&rdquo;Probert was trying to get back to 225 pounds.&ldquo;He wants me where I was last year,&rdquo; Probert said. &ldquo;I guess you have to find a happy medium. If you try to be quicker, then maybe you&rsquo;re not as strong. And if you&rsquo;re stronger, maybe you&rsquo;re not as quick.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT Mike Smith is the GM in Chicago. Enough said. The Hawks started the season with six Europeans on the roster, including five Russians. Not only is center Alex Zhamnov the Hawks&rsquo; best all-around player, he was named captain by coach Brian Sutter, becoming the fourth Russian in NHL history to wear the &lsquo;C.&rsquo;Sergei Berezin, Igor Korolev and Alexander Karpovtsev are now Hawks after playing for Smith in Toronto. Smith drafted Zhamnov and Boris Mironov in Winnipeg.NOTEBOOK According to GM Mike Smith, suspended winger Theoren Fleury was still in Chicago undergoing his aftercare treatment. Fleury was working out on his own but not skating, Smith said. &#9632;

f0014-04

Probert adds muscle; loses speed, ice time

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Adrian Dater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05455/8093280-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="220" height="229"></div>Peter Forsberg might have died the night his spleen ruptured if: A) The Colorado Avalanche&rsquo;s Game 7 playoff series victory over Los Angeles had been at the Staples Center or, B) He hadn&rsquo;t sold his mountain home just a few months before and moved downtown.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of could-a-beens,&rdquo; Forsberg said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just glad I&rsquo;m fine now.&rdquo;So are the Avs, who got four points (two goals, two assists) from Forsberg in his first three games. The superstar forward revealed previously undisclosed details from the May, 2001, night his spleen ruptured, which could have ended his life.Forsberg said 1.7 liters of blood spilled into his stomach after the spleen burst and doctors told him he would have probably died if he hadn&rsquo;t gotten surgery within two hours.That would have meant trouble if the team had been in an airplane that night, or if Forsberg had lived in his Colorado hillside home&ndash;far from a hospital&ndash;that he had just sold. As it turned out, Forsberg was at a downtown Denver restaurant at the time, and was rushed to the hospital as soon as his spleen gave out.EUROPEAN IMPACT The Avalanche has six Europeans on the roster and they definitely have an impact on the team&rsquo;s style of play.Forsberg, a Swede, leads the way with his silky presence. Czech forwards Milan Hejduk, Radim Vrbata and Vaclav Nedorost add much speed and skill. The Avs traditionally have drafted lots of European players, including their first round pick of this year, winger Jonas Johansson.Obviously, they have had success with that approach, and they show no signs of stopping. The Avs scout heavily in Europe, preferring speed and skill over the more brawny Canadian and American players.NOTEBOOK In each of the Avs first three games, coach Bob Hartley played forwards Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic on the same line for at least one period. But don&rsquo;t look for the two to stay together all year&hellip;The status of forward Dean McAmmond appeared murky for the near future. McAmmond, acquired from Calgary, still hadn&rsquo;t skated with the team more than a week into the season because of a strained lower back. &#9632;

f0014-05

Forsberg nearly died from ruptured spleen

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Aaron Portzline</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06357/8093311-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="218" height="221"></div>Lasse Pirjeta was three games into his NHL career when he sustained a separated shoulder that will sideline him until late November.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s better that I not even think about it,&rdquo; said a dejected Pirjeta, who starred in Finland the past five seasons before Columbus drafted and signed him this summer.Pirjeta, 28, was pegged as a right winger on one of the Blue Jackets&rsquo; top two lines. The hope was his size and strength over the puck would help offset Columbus&rsquo; smallish cast of forwards. He had one assist in the Blue Jackets first two games, but was hurt during his first shift in an Oct. 14 loss to Phoenix when he fell and plowed awkwardly into the boards.&ldquo;In every game Lasse has played, he has become more sure of himself, more comfortable,&rdquo; said coach Dave King. &ldquo;You hate to see something like this. We were hoping that once he got used to the NHL pace, he would really take off.&rdquo;The 6-foot-3, 222-pound Pirjeta had 15 goals and 41 points with 24 penalty minutes in 55 games for Karpat Oulu in Finland last season.EUROPEAN IMPACT The Blue Jackets have four Czechs and two Finns. No news there, right? Well, they also have something nobody else in the NHL can claim? They&rsquo;ve got a Norwegian, and a pretty good one.Espen Knutsen has scored 22 goals and 95 points in two seasons with Columbus, which is pretty impressive considering his NHL career was left for dead when his tour with Anaheim was cut short after 19 games in 1997-98.&ldquo;Espen has really grown into an NHL player,&rdquo; said president and GM Doug MacLean. &ldquo;And the part of his game that doesn&rsquo;t get the credit it deserves is his toughness.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Left winger Rick Nash left two of his first three NHL games with injuries and sat out his fourth. Nash suffered &ldquo;a slight concussion,&rdquo; Oct. 14, according to GM Doug MacLean when he was checked hard into the boards late in the first period. Nash, the first player chosen in the 2002 NHL draft, needed seven stitches over his left eye and two on the bridge of his nose. He missed the rest of that game and an Oct. 17 game versus St. Louis. Nash scored in his first NHL game. &#9632;

f0014-06

Separated shoulder stops rookie Pirjeta

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Chuck Carlton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-07281/8093349-1-eng-US/f0014-072.jpg" title="f0014-07" width="221" height="224"></div>The red line had become almost like a border crossing for Dallas Stars defensemen.They could only carry the puck so far before the systern took over.Not anymore.&ldquo;Mentally, we know we don&rsquo;t have to get to the red line and throw it in if we have the opportunity to skate,&rdquo; said defenseman Darryl Sydor. &ldquo;If you have a chance to make a play, we&rsquo;d like to do it.&rdquo;After combining for just 77 points last season, their second lowest total in six seasons with the Stars, Sydor and Sergei Zubov are thriving with their newfound offensive freedom.Through five games, the two had combined for two goals and nine points. In coach Dave Tippett&rsquo;s philosophy, defensive participation on offense is more than a suggestion.&ldquo;They have to contribute offensively,&rdquo; Tippett said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve talked about them supporting the rush, always being another option. Teams play so well defensively and backcheck so well now. There&rsquo;s probably more 4-on-3s in the game than there is 3-on-2s. If you don&rsquo;t have that fourth guy, it&rsquo;s 3-on-3 and not an advantage.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT The Stars run the gamut from a skilled defenseman (Sergei Zubov) to a skilled rookie (Niko Kapanen) to a depth defenseman (Sami Helenius). But among the five, there&rsquo;s the European who defies classification, winger Jere Lehtinen.He&rsquo;s coming off a 25-goal season that also saw him nominated for another Selke Trophy. Yet he always blends into the background with the Stars. Maybe it&rsquo;s a reserved personality. Or it could be that his play is both fundamental and gritty Lehtinen doesn&rsquo;t make pretty plays, just effective ones.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-08231/8093342-1-eng-US/f0014-082.jpg" title="f0014-08" width="228" height="282"><figcaption class="caption-body">Darryl Sydor</figcaption></div>NOTEBOOK The Stars were unbeaten in their first four games before losing 3-1 to Minnesota Oct. 17, two short of the franchise record for quickest starts&hellip;The first name has surfaced as a possible owner to replace Tom Hicks. Internet millionaire Todd Wagner, a former business partner of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, says he&rsquo;s &ldquo;kicking tires, nothing more at this point.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0014-07

Defense encouraged to join Stars attack

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Nicholas J. Cotsonika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011691/8093387-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="223" height="230"></div>The Stanley Cup champions walked into the dressing room and found a little something in their stalls, an official letter on Red Wings stationery that began,&rdquo;Please provide your ring size&rdquo; &ldquo;I&rsquo;m keeping that, baby!&rdquo; exclaimed left winger Luc Robitaille, smiling, holding it up, wanting to save every memento and savor every moment connected to his first Cup.The next night, they raised the team&rsquo;s 10th Cup banner&ndash;its third in six years&ndash;to the Joe Louis Arena&rsquo;s rafters.Retired coach Scotty Bowman was there. So was retired goalie Dominik Hasek. And the injured Steve Yzerman. And former defenseman Steve Duchesne.&ldquo;You look at the banner and you reflect on what you did in the prior season, what a great accomplishment it is,&rdquo; said coach Dave Lewis. &ldquo;You appreciate how difficult it is to do that, to achieve that.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021204/8093380-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="231" height="281"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Lewis</figcaption></div>As for newcomers Dmitri Bykov, Curtis Joseph and Henrik Zetterberg&hellip;&ldquo;Think about next year, I guess, that banner raising,&rdquo; Joseph said. &ldquo;Hopefully it&rsquo;ll happen the same way.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT Sometimes you wonder if the Wings are a North American team, what with Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Dmitri Bykov, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Jiri Fischer and Maxim Kuznetsov on the roster.The team pioneered investing in European players&ndash;drafting Soviets and whisking them out from behind the Iron Curtain&ndash;and adopted European strategy (left-wing lock) and style (puck possession).Because the Wings usually draft so late in each round, expect the trend to continue. &ldquo;We feel if you&rsquo;re going to get lucky in the draft, you&rsquo;re going to get lucky with Europeans, because they&rsquo;re not seen as much,&rdquo; said GM Ken Holland.NOTEBOOK Center Jason Williams didn&rsquo;t meet the requirements to have his name on the Cup, but the team submitted his name because he appeared in nine playoff games and played a significant role in the Western Conference final. &ldquo;It is the best feeling in the world,&rdquo; Williams said. &#9632;

f0015-01

Stanley Cup rings tempt new teammates

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Rob Tychkowski</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03842/8093418-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="223" height="228"></div>Ales Hemsky won&rsquo;t be taking the NHL by storm after all. At least not yet.Dubbed the most naturally gifted player in the Oiler organization when he made the team as a 19-year-old rookie, the 13th overall pick from 2001 hasn&rsquo;t been quite as fast out of the blocks as the coaching staff would like.He has been given plenty of opportunities&ndash;he started the year on the first line with Ryan Smyth and Mike Comrie&ndash;but it hasn&rsquo;t translated into points. The right winger managed one assist in his first three games and received less and less ice time each night. He was down to 10 minutes by Game 3.Coach Craig MacTavish said part of the problem is he doesn&rsquo;t feel comfortable yet playing Hemsky late in close games.&ldquo;As a coach you have to have an eye on not only developing a young player like him, but also not putting him in situations where he could fail and adversely effect his confidence,&rdquo; MacTavish said. &ldquo;You want to have the guys out there on the ice you feel comfortable with in those tight, close situations.&rdquo;By the fourth game of the season he was in the press box.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s my first year, so I&rsquo;m OK with this right now,&rdquo; Hemsky said.He can play 10 NHL games before losing a year of waiver draft exemption.EUROPEAN IMPACT The Oilers only have six Europeans on their roster, including both netminders (Tommy Salo from Sweden and Jussi Markkanen from Finland).Their most valuable import is workhorse defenseman Janne Niinimaa, who&rsquo;s as durable as they come and plays 25-30 minutes a night. They also have three newcomers in rookie Ales Hemsky and sophomore Jiri Dopita (both of the Czech Republic) and Finnish defenseman Kari Haakana.Edmonton&rsquo;s last four first round picks&ndash;and five of their last six&ndash;have been Europeans, but Hemsky is the only one to ever make the team.NOTEBOOK Upset with his club after a lackluster effort in a 3-0 loss in Dallas, coach Craig MacTavish called a 7 a.m. cardio session the next morning before the team flew to San Jose. They lost 4-3 to the Sharks&hellip;The loss to the Stars ran Edmonton&rsquo;s winless streak in Dallas to 14 games (0-13-1). They haven&rsquo;t won a regular season game there since Jan. 17, 1996. &#9632;

f0015-03

Oilers rookie Hemsky off to sluggish start

<div class="byline">&#x2014;David J. Neal</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04617/8093456-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="220" height="229"></div>It isn&rsquo;t often a coach tells a player of a demotion without discussing it with the GM first. But such is the power split between Panthers coach Mike Keenan and GM Rick Dudley, both of whom report to majority owner Alan Cohen.Before a practice three games into the season, Keenan told 19-year-old rookie center Stephen Weiss he was being returned to junior. That night, Dudley and Keenan talked about the move.Dudley said he and Keenan decided to keep Weiss at least until he had to be returned to Plymouth because, once returned, Weiss would be there for the season. Keenan said he decided Weiss could stay after Weiss asked him the following morning for a second chance.Cohen said the final decision was Keenan&rsquo;s alone and that Keenan had full control over the roster. Keenan&rsquo;s contract runs through 2006 with two more one-year club options.EUROPEAN IMPACT Ironic that when the Panthers played a causeway away from cosmopolitan South Beach, they were a North American outfit. Today, thePanthers team that plays in the vanilla suburbs has 13 Europeans, including their top two defensemen and five of their top six forwards (as of the start of the season).One of the reasons the Panthers traded for defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich is leadership, especially considering his many younger, Russian-speaking teammates. It is more shared heritage than shared language&ndash;many of the younger Europeans are North Americanized, just as able to argue about rap or rock in English as any other kid.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-05429/8093449-1-eng-US/f0015-052.jpg" title="f0015-05" width="231" height="281"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stephen Weiss</figcaption></div>NOTEBOOK When the Panthers beat Atlanta 5-4 in overtime Oct. 12, it was the first overtime win for the franchise since Jan. 27, 2001. It was also their first overtime win over a team other than Tampa Bay since Jan. 22, 2000, against Boston. Pavel Bure had the Panthers&rsquo; last three overtime winners&hellip;Center Olli Jokinen&rsquo;s four-point night against Atlanta gave him as many points in one game as he had in the first 34 games of 2000-01 and three more points than he had in the first 30 games last season. &#9632;

f0015-04

Team management debates Weiss’s future

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Matt McHale</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011653/8093494-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="220" height="225"></div>After off-season attempts to bolster their second line and bring offensive balance, the Los Angeles Kings are still a team that will only go as far, it seems, as center Jason Allison takes them.During a season-opening three-game winning streak, Allison carried the club and scored two key goals in a victory over Detroit. But when Ziggy Palffy and Bryan Smolinski were sidelined with injuries for an important early game against Colorado, Allison was held without a shot and the Kings lost.&ldquo;We know we have to step up to take the pressure off him,&rdquo; said Eric Belanger, whose promotion from the checking line to the second unit netted him three goals in the first four games.&ldquo;We saw what happened during the playoffs last year. Teams are focusing on him. We have to change that.&rdquo;In their first round playoff loss to Colorado, the Kings took the Avs to seven games, but Allison, who led the team in scoring after coming over from Boston in late October, walked away from Game 6 with a leg injury. Adam Deadmarsh was lost after Game 4 when he took a header into the boards behind the Avs net. The Kings lost Game 7 4-0.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021286/8093487-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="230" height="283"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jason Allison</figcaption></div>EUROPEAN IMPACT The Kings have eight Europeans, many of them key performers. Palffy, last year&rsquo;s team leader with 32 goals, was energized throughout camp and the first two games after his native Slovakia won last summer&rsquo;s World Championship. When he missed the next two games with a groin strain, Czech Jaroslav Bednar stepped in. The club is still waiting for Bednar, now in his second year, to become an offensive star.Four of the Kings&rsquo; top six defensemen are from Europe with Andreas Lilja joining fellow Swede Mattias Norstrom on one pairing. Norstrom is the captain and most respected player in the dressing room. He always rates highest on training camp strength and flexibility tests and usually leads the team in hits.NOTEBOOK The Kings&rsquo; 3-0-0-0 start was their best since opening the 1995-96 season 4-0-3. That was Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s last year with the club. &#9632;

f0016-01

Leading man Allison needs mates’ help

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Tom Jones</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03968/8093525-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="220" height="223"></div>Bill Muckalt knew it had to happen sooner or later.Then again, there was a little voice inside his head that wondered if he would ever score a goal again in the NHL.Muckalt finally snapped one of the strangest slumps in the NHL when he scored to break a goal-less drought that reached 75 games and dated back to April 2, 2001.Muckalt broke his curse with a goal Oct. 15 against Florida. For good measure, he scored into an empty net in the same game for the first two-goal game of his career.&ldquo;Absolutely, it was a relief,&rdquo; Muckalt said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of those things where if you get bucked off the horse, you got to get right back on and keep going. That&rsquo;s the attitude I took all along.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s the attitude he took on the play that resulted in his first goal in 18 months. Moments before knocking in a loose puck from just outside the goal crease, Muckalt was stoned on a breakaway.The Wild believes Muckalt, who went scoreless in 70 games for Ottawa last season, can become the player he was when he scored 16 goals as a rookie for Vancouver in 199899.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s more of a defensive player than an offensive player, but with as hard as he works, you know he&rsquo;s going to score goals,&rdquo; said Wild coach Jacques Lemaire.EUROPEAN IMPACT The Wild has six Europeans on its roster with a heavy slant toward Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Slovak right winger Marian Gaborik and defenseman Lubomir Sekeras are the keys to the Wild power play with Sekeras playing the role of quarterback.NOTEBOOK Coach Jacques Lemaire won his 300th NHL game when the Wild beat Florida 4-1 Oct.15&hellip;With 14 goals scored and five against, the Wild had the NHL&rsquo;s best goal differential en route to an impressive 3-0-1-0 start. &#9632;

f0016-03

Muckalt delights twice after 18-month famine

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05533/8093556-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="568" height="795"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAPTAIN KOIVU Montreal traded six captains in a row prior to Saku Koivu, but the Habs&rsquo; current leader isn&rsquo;t going anywhere.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04732/8093563-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="227" height="229"></div>Perhaps the Montreal Canadiens were slightly premature in identifying veteran Jeff Hackett as the team&rsquo;s backup goaltender. Through the early stages of the new season, Jose Theodore was playing like someone who deserved to ride the-bench.Theodore, winner of last season&rsquo;s Hart and Vezina Trophies as the league&rsquo;s most valuable player and outstanding netminder, lost two of his first three starts and allowed 13 goals for an unflattering 4.33 goals-against average and a sorry.829 save percentage.Theodore was solid in the Canadiens&rsquo; 4-1 season-opening win over the Rangers, but allowed six goals the following night against Buffalo-in Montreal&rsquo;s home opener and six goals&ndash;again at home&ndash;against Philadelphia three nights later.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to have to concentrate on what I do best and that&rsquo;s challenging shooters and making the first save,&rdquo; Theodore said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just thinking a little bit too much right now.&rdquo;Coach Michel Therrien started Hackett at Detroit on Oct. 17, but denied the decision was based on Theodore&rsquo;s struggles. Hackett was brilliant, stopping 33 shots in a 3-2 win.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to blame one guy,&rdquo; said Therrien of Theodore&rsquo;s struggles. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not my style.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT Eyebrows were raised in October of 1999 when the Canadiens named Finn Saku Koivu their captain&ndash;a position normally reserved for francophones. Not only has the flashy center delivered on the ice and expanded his leadership role, but his aura grew last season when he overcame abdominal cancer, returned late in the season and helped the Canadiens advance to the second round of the playoffs.Europeans, largely ignored when Rejean Houle was GM, have gained prominence under Andre Savard. On most nights, five of the Canadiens&rsquo; 12 forwards are European.NOTEBOOK Veteran right winger Randy McKay made his debut as a Canadien Oct. 15 after missing the first two games of the regular season with a broken bone in his left foot. &#9632;

f0016-05

Six-goal Theodore banished to bench

<div class="byline">&#x2014;David Boclair</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06442/8093594-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="216" height="224"></div>Coach Barry Trotz had framed pictures of the Stanley Cup hung over the two doorways to Nashville&rsquo;s dressing room, one which leads to the ice and one which leads to the weight room. &ldquo;I think, obviously, we should have one goal in mind, that&rsquo;s to eventually win the Stanley Cup,&rdquo; Trotz said. &ldquo;One of the first steps is to eventually make the playoffs. That really hasn&rsquo;t changed the message, I just put more of a visual there.&rdquo;Of the 23 players on the roster at the start of the season, just seven, including Cale Hulse who appeared in one playoff game in 1996, have any NHL post-season experience. Left winger Brent Gilchrist is the only player whose name is on the Cup.The Predators may be optimistic about their chances of getting to the dance, but they also understand the harsh reality they face, given they finished 25 points behind eighthplace Vancouver last season.&ldquo;The thing is we have to prove to everybody we can play really good hockey and we can make the playoffs,&rdquo; said defenseman Kimmo Timonen. &ldquo;We have to improve and prove to everybody we can make it.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT While Nashville&rsquo;s European presence has decreased since the end of last season (when Europeans occasionally made up half the lineup), their importance has not. Denis Arkhipov (Russia), Martin Erat (Czech Republic) and Vladimir Orszagh (Slovakia) form the top line and No. 1 power play unit. Timonen should be the team leader in ice time for the second straight year and the topscoring defenseman for the fourth straight season.Overall, only seven Europeans, including backup goalie Tomas Vokoun, made the opening-day roster.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Cale Hulse snapped a run of 97 consecutive games without goal when he scored Oct. 12 against Edmonton. &ldquo;Obviously, the main reason I&rsquo;m here is not to score goals,&rdquo; Hulse said,&rdquo;but I&rsquo;d like to think I&rsquo;ll get a few more than in the past.&rdquo;&hellip;The Preds were the only team that didn&rsquo;t have an overtime loss last year. They lost their first overtime game this season, 4-3 against the New York Islanders Oct. 15&hellip;Defenseman Karlis Skrastins scored the franchise&rsquo;s first 5-on-3 shorthanded goal against the Isles. &#9632;

f0016-06

Pictures of Stanley hang in Preds’ home

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Rich Chere</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07390/8093632-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="216" height="229"></div>Everyone knows Pat Burns used to work as a cop in Ottawa and Gatineau, Que., but few in the New Jersey Devils dressing room are aware their coach was once a detective who helped solve a gruesome killing.Burns and partner John Janusz, now Gatineau&rsquo;s chief of police, were assigned to the 1980 case of a murdered priest.&ldquo;(Pat) was tough as a street cop and disciplined as an investigator,&rdquo; Janusz said. &ldquo;The major crime we worked was when that priest was murdered and found in the motel. We started with nothing, worked six months and we solved that murder.&rdquo;&ldquo;One of the (killers), I think, is out of prison,&rdquo; Burns said. &ldquo;The other one, who was about 20 at the time, is still in jail. In fact, he sent me a letter threatening my life when I was coaching in Montreal. He must have been watching TV and recognized me.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think or talk about it (too much),&rdquo; Burns said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want my wife to worry.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT The team that brought Viacheslav Fetisov to the NHL in 1989 has become decidedly un-European. Since last season, the Devils have lost Czechs Bobby Holik and Petr Sykora, Russians Sergei Nemchinov and Valeri Kamensky and Swede Andreas Salomonsson from their roster. Not to mention, Swedes Tommy Albelin and Christian Berglund&ndash;Devils a year ago&ndash;were playing in the American League.Of course, three of the remaining four Euros (Patrik Elias, Oleg Tverdovsky and Sergei Brylin) are key members of the power play unit. Andrei Zyuzin is New Jersey&rsquo;s other non-North American.In the past, the Devils have been a team built around size. Now, with the crackdown on obstruction, they are a faster team. Elias remains the top threat on offense while Tverdovsky heads the power play.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08340/8093625-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="233" height="287"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat Burns</figcaption></div>NOTEBOOK Pat Burns became the fourth coach in team history to win his first two games. When Jim Schoenfeld took over in January, 1988, the team went 3-0-0. Jacques Lemaire started 7-0-0 in 1993-94 and the Devils won their first two games under Kevin Constantine midway through last year. &#9632;

f0016-07

Burns’s relentlessness trait from his cop days

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Peter Botte</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011476/8093670-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="215" height="226"></div>The New York Islanders have known in past years what it is like to be a bottom-feeder, the kind of club other teams use to get their backup goalie some work.Under coach Peter Laviolette, however, the Isles rarely have approached their goalie situation that way.With starter Chris Osgood fighting the puck through his first three starts this season, Laviolette turned to backup Garth Snow to lead the Isles to a huge early-season tie in Philadelphia.&ldquo;I think any player likes to play against the best competition there is, and I&rsquo;m no different,&rdquo; Snow said.Last season, Snow started against playoff teams Philadelphia (twice), Boston (twice), New Jersey, Ottawa, Chicago and Los Angeles.He posted a 6-2-0 record with a 2.34 goals-against average in those games, including a 2-0 mark with two shutouts against the first-place Flyers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021146/8093663-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="227" height="282"><figcaption class="caption-body">Garth Snow</figcaption></div>Which isn&rsquo;t to suggest Osgood is in jeopardy of losing his starting status. Asked if he was concerned about Osgood&rsquo;s play&ndash;which included a shaky .767 save percentage through three games&ndash;Laviolette replied,&rdquo;You&rsquo;re not going to rattle Chris Osgood. He will be there for us; you can mark my words.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT Two forwards&ndash;Alexei Yashin and Oleg Kvasha (Russia)&ndash;and four of Laviolette&rsquo;s top-six defensemen&ndash;Kenny Jonsson and Mattias Timander (Sweden), and Roman Hamrlik and Radek Martinek (Czech Republic)&ndash;hail from the other side of the pond.Led by European scouts such as Anders Kallur, a key cog in the team&rsquo;s Stanley Cup dynasty in the 1980s, the Isles have uncovered players such as Martinek, Zdeno Chara and prospects Mattias Weinhandl and Martin Chabada in later rounds of recent drafts.NOTEBOOK Rookie right winger Trent Hunter&rsquo;s seasonopening stay on the Islanders&rsquo; second line&ndash;and in the NHL&ndash;lasted all of two games. After going pointless against Buffalo and Washington, Hunter, who made the team out of training camp because of his offensive skills, was returned to Bridgeport of the American League along with defenseman Tomi Pettinen. &#9632;

f0017-01

Struggling Osgood spelled ably by Snow

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Rick Carpiniello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03830/8093701-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="210" height="227"></div>Alarms were going off everywhere as the Rangers were treading water early in the season.During a four-game span, they allowed 18 goals and at one point gave up five power play goals in nine attempts.Those might not be considered trends had the Rangers not ranked in the bottom two in both goals-against and penalty killing the past two seasons.But even with a new coaching staff and plenty of new personnel, the Rangers were having many of the same troubles they&rsquo;d had in previous seasons. One of those is not finishing off a team once they have a lead.&ldquo;We have to learn how to play in different situations, with leads,&rdquo; said Bobby Holik. &ldquo;We know we can score goals. I don&rsquo;t feel like we&rsquo;re not playing well.&rdquo;Holik, brought in to be a defensive conscience on a team lacking one, had an ill-advised shot blocked and turned into a Chris Gratton breakaway goal in a typical 4-4 tie in Buffalo&ndash;a game in which the Rangers led 2-0 and 3-2.&ldquo;A couple of times we&rsquo;re just not making smart decisions with the puck,&rdquo; Holik said. &ldquo;If we can cut down on those sorts of plays, we can always score enough goals to win.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT The Rangers&rsquo; most recent marquee acquisitions are all European-born&ndash;Russian winger Pavel Bure, Czech center Bobby Holik and Russian defenseman Darius Kasparaitis.Kasparaitis was being paired with fellow Russian Vladimir Malakhov as part of the twosome assigned to handle the &lsquo;stopper&rsquo; responsibilities against opponents&rsquo; top lines.Former Czech-mates Petr Nedved and Radek Dvorak were split up, with Nedved moving from center to left wing on a line with Bure and Eric Lindros.NOTEBOOK Center Eric Lindros missed one game and much of another because of run-ins with the rulebook. He was suspended one game for a play for which he only received a minor penalty&ndash;a high stick to Montreal blueliner Stephane Quintal&rsquo;s head. In his first game back from the suspension, Lindros received a very questionable boarding major and game misconduct when Toronto defenseman Wade Belak tripped and Lindros fell into him. &#9632;

f0017-03

Familiar problems plague Rangers early

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Bruce Garrioch</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04608/8093739-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="221" height="226"></div>Patrick Lalime could be a busy man this year.With an inexperienced backup in Martin Prusek, the Senators No. 1 goalie could see up to 70 games between the pipes this year because the club will need him in the run for the playoffs.Though it would be only nine more appearances than the 61 games Lalime played last year, it would put him in elite company with the likes of New Jersey&rsquo;s Martin Brodeur, Edmonton&rsquo;s Tommy Salo and Tampa&rsquo;s Nikolai Khabibulin.Brodeur led the league with 73 games last season while Khabibulin and Salo played 69. With Jani Hurme dealt to the Florida Panthers, it is possible Prusek could be eased into the backup role with only one year of American League experience.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s how many games you play&hellip;it&rsquo;s the quality of games that you play,&rdquo; said Lalime. &ldquo;As a goalie, if you&rsquo;re playing well, I think you want to play as much as you can play. There&rsquo;s no secret there. I know guys that have played 70 games. That&rsquo;s a lot. You don&rsquo;t see many guys in the league who play that many games.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT As usual, the Senators have a full compliment of European players, including first-year full-timers Anton Volchenkov and Petr Schastlivy, but that could change under GM John Muckier. While former GM Marshall Johnston liked to go to Europe in the draft, Muckier wants to add more grit. That means the likes of Magnus Arvedson could be sent elsewhere before the season is over; Arvedson can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05422/8093732-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="228" height="284"><figcaption class="caption-body">Patrick Lalime</figcaption></div>NOTEBOOK Senators players will likely lend their support to the club&rsquo;s season ticket drive. Captain Daniel Alfredsson confirmed the players are discussing the possibility of buying a block of tickets which will be distributed to local charities. &ldquo;We had a pitch made to us (by the club) and we&rsquo;re talking about it,&rdquo; Alfredsson said. The Senators have sold only 8,300 season tickets this season-the lowest total for any Canadian team. Owner Rod Bryden has set a goal of 10,500. &#9632;

f0017-04

Bigger workload welcomed by Lalime

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Bob McManaman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-05377/8093808-1-eng-US/f0018-052.jpg" title="f0018-05" width="565" height="978"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAPTAIN COYOTE Phoenix&rsquo;s Teppo Numminen, who has been with the franchise since 1988, is one of seven European captains in the NHL.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03845/8093815-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="214" height="225"></div>For a club usually known for its electric early starts, the Phoenix Coyotes were suffering from a severe power outage to begin 2002-03.A disappointing 1-4-0-0 start&ndash;the worst in franchise history&ndash;after last season&rsquo;s Cinderella-story 95-point season featured everything from managing partner Wayne Gretzky lecturing the team, to coach Bobby Francis benching prominent forwards Shane Doan and Daniel Briere, to goalie Sean Burke ripping his team behind closed doors.Francis kept Doan and Briere on the bench for the final half of his team&rsquo;s 5-3 loss in Toronto Oct. 17, in which Burke apparently called out several players by name before reporters were allowed to enter the dressing room.Gretzky, meanwhile, gave out a rare tongue lashing himself days earlier, telling his team he clearly expected more.&ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t very happy with our play,&rdquo; said forward Tony Amonte. &ldquo;It was a surprise he came down, but by no means was he going crazy or going nuts. He just wanted to tell the guys what he was seeing from upstairs and he thought we could play a lot better.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT Seven European players are on the active roster. Four of them are blueliners, including two Finns (Teppo Numminen and Ossi Vaananen), a Russian (Danny Markov), and a Slovak (Radoslav Suchy). Forwards Branko Radivojevic (Slovakia) and Andrei Nazarov (Russia) round out the list.Since relocating from Winnipeg in 1996, the Coyotes have drafted only 10 Euros, some of who are no longer with the team. A huge part of Phoenix&rsquo;s future, though, could involve Vaananen, Suchy and Radivojevic.NOTEBOOK Left winger Darcy Hordichuk engaged in two fights in his first three games after an early call-up from the minors. &ldquo;(Pro scout) Warren Rychel told me in camp, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t start fighting guys right off the bat. Run some of their key players over a couple times when their heads are down, and then the fights will come.&rsquo;&rdquo; &#9632;

f0018-05

Frustration the result of Coyotes’ poor start

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Joe Starkey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04562/8093846-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="217" height="225"></div>If the NHL continues to crack down on obstruction, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Mario Lemieux could shoot for his career-best total of 199 points, set in 1988-89.Lemieux started the season with 10 points in four games, a pace that would net him 205.Granted, a lot of people are &ldquo;on pace&rdquo; to do spectacular things after a week. But a lot of people aren&rsquo;t Mario Lemieux. He laughed when somebody asked him if 200 points is possible.&ldquo;No, not at 37,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not 25 anymore. We&rsquo;ve had three good games, but 200 points is out of reach for everybody, even though the game is a bit more wide open&hellip;But, we&rsquo;ll see what happens if I stay healthy.&rdquo;He laughed and added,&rdquo;If I&rsquo;m feeling good and don&rsquo;t have to practice too much, I&rsquo;ll be all right.&rdquo;Lemieux&rsquo;s surge began when Penguins coach Rick Kehoe re-worked his lines after a season-opening 6-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He moved Alexei Kovalev from second line center to first line right wing, putting him next to Lemieux and Aleksey Morozov. The trio proceeded to rip off 25 points in three games, mostly on the power play.Lemieux, of course, was one of the louder voices in calling for a crackdown on interference. He has been one of the biggest beneficiaries, too.EUROPEAN IMPACT Two years ago, more than two-thirds of the Penguins&rsquo; roster was European, including five of six members of the top two lines, and even the coach, Ivan Hlinka. This year, the Penguins started the season with 10 of their 23 players of European descent, although four of them will be on the top two lines when Martin Straka returns from injury.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Josef Melichar partially dislocated his left shoulder and is out of the lineup until at least late November. He dislocated that shoulder last year, too. &#9632;

f0018-04

Super Mario cashes in with less obstruction

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Derrick Goold</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-06292/8093877-1-eng-US/f0018-062.jpg" title="f0018-06" width="212" height="226"></div>Forget a few nights of alarmingly low attendance and a horrible special teams stretch, the true tests of the St. Louis Blues five-game home stand were captured in two locations: groins and goalies.By the end of the fourth game&ndash;a 7-1 victory against Columbus&ndash;the Blues found themselves with the organization&rsquo;s fourth-string goalie in net and the fifthstring goalie on a flight to St. Louis.Brent Johnson was already out with a high ankle sprain and shows no hint of returning before November. Fred Brathwaite started the first two games, then dropped to an aggravated groin injury. Finally Reinhard Divis, whom the Blues hope can be a backup, came in, won his debut as the first Austrian to start an NHL game, then left his second start with a new groin injury.That left Curtis Sanford, not even a season removed from the East Coast League, to protect a 3-0 lead through 41 minutes. And then there&rsquo;s Byron Dafoe&rsquo;s agent on line 1.The Blues, riddled by injury, remain in a holding pattern for the unrestricted free agent&ndash;part of the picture, but not part of the bidding. Not yet.It depends on the healing power of groins.EUROPEAN IMPACT Three European newcomers made an immediate impact on the Blues, while the two returning Europeans repeated their recent contributions. Tom Koivisto, an offense-minded, slick-skating defenseman, scored two goals, including the winner against Carolina. Petr Cajanek, MVP in the Czech league last year, was one of the Blues most consistent two-way forwards. Both Koivisto and Cajanek were late, no-risk draft picks for the Blues, who need such low-cost contributors.Divis, a former Austrian judo champ, went 2-0-0 making 33 saves on 34 shots and bidding to be the backup the Blues hope he&rsquo;ll be soon.Slovak Pavol Demitra is the Blues best playmaker and Russian Alexander Khavanov is expected to blossom with increased ice time.NOTEBOOK Special teams cost the Blues victories the first two games, as the penalty kill allowed two critical goals in each game and the 1-for-17 power play failed to capitalize on its opportunities. &#9632;

f0018-06

Injuries, special teams haunt Blues at home

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Ross McKeon</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-07244/8093915-1-eng-US/f0018-072.jpg" title="f0018-07" width="213" height="227"></div>He was fine making his first NHL start. He was fine nursing a one-goal lead in the third period. He was still fine with the added pressure his team hadn&rsquo;t won its first game of the season yet.But once Vesa Toskala got into the dressing room following the San Jose Sharks&rsquo; 4-3 win over Edmonton Oct. 17, he was not so sure.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I feel comfortable in front of the camera,&rdquo; Toskala said.Toskala has earned his right to the media attention, just as he earned his first NHL start with a solid pre-season.When Miikka Kiprusoff allowed 10 goals in San Jose&rsquo;s first two games, the Sharks decided to give Toskala a try.Toskala&rsquo;s previous NHL experience comprised two one-period relief stints and no goals allowed on a combined 14 shots. He would have started the season in the minors if Evgeni Nabokov weren&rsquo;t still unsigned.&ldquo;I tried to enjoy my first (start) as much as possible,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t try to do anything special, no extra movements.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-08180/8093908-1-eng-US/f0018-082.jpg" title="f0018-08" width="229" height="285"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vesa Toskala</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I thought he was quiet in the net, which means you are in control,&rdquo; said coach Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;He covered pucks well. That is what you want, consistent high-level play.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT The Sharks&rsquo; opening-night roster included six European players.Forwards Teemu Selanne, a Finn, and Marco Sturm, a German, flank center Patrick Marleau to form the top line. Sweden&rsquo;s Niklas Sundstrom plays right wing paired with Mike Ricci and Scott Thornton on the third line.The two goalies, both from Finland, are starter Kiprusoff, getting a chance to be the top guy in Nabokov&rsquo;s (Kazakhstan) absence, and Toskala.Not flashy but consistently effective, Swedish blueliner Marcus Ragnarsson has led the Sharks in average ice time in consecutive seasons.NOTEBOOK After a 6-3 loss to Detroit, San Jose fell to 2-8-2 alltime on opening night&hellip;Right winger Teemu Selanne fed his need for speed by maxing out at a 7.3 G-rating while a passenger during a practice flight by the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy&rsquo;s flight demonstration team. &#9632;

f0018-07

Third-string Toskala gives Sharks first win

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Damian Cristodero</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02739/8093946-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vancouver captain Markus Naslund, a native of Sweden, is one of 10 Europeans on the Canucks&rsquo; roster.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011071/8093953-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="211" height="220"></div>The trade that brought Ruslan Fedotenko to the Lightning from Philadelphia for the No. 4 pick in the 2002 draft was looking pretty good through two games of the season.The left winger scored two goals for Tampa Bay in a 5-1 victory over Carolina Oct. 12 and Fedotenko had meshed well with center Vincent Lecavalier, who had a goal and four points in his first two games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited,&rdquo; Fedotenko said. &ldquo;I feel like I come here and try to prove I&rsquo;m a good player. I just do my job. I know I can play. I know I can score 20 to 25 goals and I can help the team.&rdquo;Lightning GM Jay Feaster took all kinds of media heat after the trade with the Flyers, in which the Bolts also got two second round draft picks (one of which he sent to the Stars for defenseman Brad Lukowich).&ldquo;People can criticize the move all they want, but whomever we drafted at that spot was not going to play for us and wouldn&rsquo;t have made a difference if they did,&rdquo; Feaster said.&ldquo;We did our homework on Fedotenko and we knew exactly what we were getting. We had no doubt in our mind he could be a 20- to 25-goal scorer.&rdquo;EUROPEAN IMPACT The Lightning has eight Europeans on its roster, the most important being goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. Through the first two games, at least one European was on every line, including Russian rookie center Alexander Svitov, who earned a spot on the fourth line. The defensive pairing of Stan Neckar and Pavel Kubina is straight out of the Czech Republic. Vinny Prospal, also a Czech, has become one of the team&rsquo;s most important offensive forces. Fedotenko, a Ukranian, has added an offensive spark and a defensive awareness that has helped kickstart Lecavalier. If Sweden&rsquo;s Fredrik Modin can shake off a nagging groin injury, he should give the Lightning even more offensive punch.NOTEBOOK Right winger Shane Willis, who had 20 goals as a rookie with Carolina two years ago, passed through waivers and was assigned to Springfield (AHL)&hellip;Left winger Chris Dingman was suspended two games for a high-sticking incident with Carolina right winger Jesse Boulerice&hellip;Left winger Dave Andreychuk&rsquo;s first goal of the season Oct. 12 against the Hurricanes was the 594th of his career. &#9632;

f0023-02

Newcomer Fedotenko pays instant dividends

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Ken Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03540/8093984-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="215" height="223"></div>Just hours after becoming the first Maple Leaf goalie to record a shutout in his debut with the team, Ed Belfour became the first Leaf in history to get injured as a result of taking off his equipment.Belfour&rsquo;s first hurt as a Leaf isn&rsquo;t quite as bizarre as Denver Broncos&rsquo; quarterback Brian Griese tripping over his dog, but it&rsquo;s still unique. When Belfour scratched his hand on a piece of equipment after a pre-season game in early October, he thought little of it. But when his right thumb began to balloon just after recording a 6-0 shutout over Pittsburgh Oct. 10, it became a major concern.&ldquo;It was scary,&rdquo; Belfour said. &ldquo;The doctors told me I may have lost a finger or even a limb had it not been treated right away.&rdquo;Belfour&rsquo;s thumb became so badly infected that he missed the Leafs&rsquo; next four games and was replaced by Trevor Kidd. He was treated with antibiotics and was cleared to play in Toronto&rsquo;s Oct. 20 game against the Montreal Canadiens.EUROPEAN IMPACT Nothing illustrates the impact Europeans have on the Leafs more than the fact that when Toronto sends out its No. 1 power play, five countries are represented. It consists of Tomas Kaberle (Czech Republic) and Robert Svehla (Slovakia) on defense, with Mats Sundin (Sweden) between Darcy Tucker (Canada) and Alexander Mogilny (Russia) up front.The Leafs have 11 Europeans among the 20 players they dress for each game, including five of their six top defensemen. There&rsquo;s at least one European on each of the four lines.Sundin has led the team in scoring each of the past eight seasons and the team&rsquo;s emphasis on the transition game is due in large part to the European influence.NOTEBOOK Rookie defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo still hadn&rsquo;t seen action in the team&rsquo;s first five games and there was growing speculation he would soon be sent back to his junior team, Erie of the OHL&hellip;Coach-GM Pat Quinn said he would love to coach Canada&rsquo;s Olympic team in 2006, but also said he would understand completely if Hockey Canada decided to go with someone else. Wayne Gretzky, who said he would run Canada&rsquo;s team if NHL players are involved in 2006, has not committed to having Quinn return&hellip;Through their first five games, the Leafs had given up a league-high eight power play goals. &#9632;

f0023-03

Bizarre thumb infection frightened Belfour

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04387/8094015-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="218" height="221"></div>Needing only four goals to become the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; all-time leading scorer, Trevor Linden instead became an injury casualty in the first week of the NHL season.Linden sprained his right knee in the first period of Vancouver&rsquo;s first game, putting on hold his quest to pass Stan Smyl&rsquo;s club record of 262 goals.After an initial diagnosis indicated Linden would be out until mid-November, it appeared he may make it back by the end of October.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough because I wanted to get off to a good start,&rdquo; said Linden, who is in the final season of a four-year pact signed while he was with Montreal. &ldquo;You train all summer, you go through five weeks of training camp and now it&rsquo;s like, Are you kidding me?&rsquo;&rdquo;The Canucks felt the loss of Linden in the faceoff circle and on the forecheck, while his line with Jan Hlavac and rookie Fedor Fedorov never got off the ground.EUROPEAN IMPACT The Canucks have 10 Europeans on their roster, led by captain, top scorer and respected leader Markus Naslund. Most of Vancouver&rsquo;s Euro content is up front where the Sedin twins, Hlavac, Fedorov, Artem Chubarov and role player Jarkko Ruutu man the various lines.The Sedins and Hlavac are purely skill players, while Chubarov is more a checking center. Fedorov is still finding his way. The Canucks&rsquo; secondbest blueliner is workhorse Mattias Ohlund, who plays in all situations and usually coleads Vancouver in ice time with Ed Jovanvoski.Defenseman Sami Salo and backup goalie Peter Skudra round out the Canucks&rsquo; European content.NOTEBOOK The Canucks have never been noted for their penalty killing, but they were a perfect 21-for-21 in their first four games&hellip;Tryout candidate John Craighead (injured during the pre-season) was expected to sign a two-way contract with the Canucks, immediately making him the toughest player in the organization after heavyweight left winger Mike Brown was lost on waivers to Anaheim. (See pg. 6 for more on Craighead.)&hellip;Defenseman&nbsp;Brent Sopel, who was plus-6 in a game against Carolina last season, went minus-5 in a 6-3 loss to Boston Oct. 16. &#9632;

f0023-04

Knee injury to-Linden delays shut at record

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-05283/8094046-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="212" height="218"></div>Bruce Cassidy is new to this NHL coaching stuff, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean the Capitals&rsquo; coach doesn&rsquo;t know how the system works. The fact he got a head coaching job at 37 shows he might know how to make it work better.Cassidy, open and candid, has made it very plain that he likes tinkering with line combinations; the best way to get him started on that vocation is to get him thinking somebody else can do a certain job better.An example: Andreas Salomonsson, a left winger picked up off waivers from New Jersey, started his first game with the Capitals Oct. 17 on the fourth line so Cassidy could see what he could do. By the end of the second period, he was on the first line.The personnel juggling is nothing personal; Cassidy is just trying to get a job done. In his first three games, he used three different lineups and sent a message with the changes&ndash;if you want to play instead of watch, earn it.EUROPEAN IMPACT Impact? If you stripped the Caps of their European players, you&rsquo;d all but gut the team.There are seven on the roster&ndash;eight if you count unsigned Russian center Andrei Nikolishin, nine if you count Canadian-raised Olie Kolzig, who holds a German passport. Then there&rsquo;s Calle Johansson and Andreas Salomonsson, Swedes; Dainius Zubrus, a Lithuanian; Peter Bondra, a Slovak; Robert Lang and Jaromir Jagr, from the Czech Republic; and Sergei Gonchar, from Russia.&ldquo;Europeans brought tremendous skill to the game,&rdquo; said GM George McPhee. &ldquo;Now we have a blend from all over the world that has combined talent and grit.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Washington opened the season with three one-goal wins, two of them on the road. The last time the Capitals started 3-0-0 (1997-98), they went to the Stanley Cup final&hellip;The Capitals reconsidered and recalled backup goaltender Craig Billington from Portland of the AHL and assigned rookie netminder Sebastien Charpentier to the Pirates&hellip;Defenseman Calle Johansson got his 400th career assist on a Peter Bondra goal Oct. 17 against Carolina&hellip;Left winger Steve Konowalchuk was named the 10th Capitals captain in franchise history. &#9632;

f0023-05

Rookie Caps coach tinkers with lineup

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011145/8094077-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0024-01

NHL DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div>When Darren Haydar was drafted, he wasn&rsquo;t a prized prospect whose name had already been sewn on the back of a sweater by an NHL team. Why, by the time the Nashville Predators called his name during the 1999 draft, they were lucky to even have a sweater for him.Haydar was selected in the ninth and final round, 248th overall. So now the 5-foot-9,170-pound center is out to prove a lot of teams made a mistake by passing on him. Haydar began his pro career the same way his collegiate career ended, by filling the scoresheet. He set up three goals as the Milwaukee Admirals defeated San Antonio 6-2 in their American League season opener.&ldquo;Proving people wrong is something I&rsquo;ve had to deal with my whole life because of my size,&rdquo; said Haydar, 23. &ldquo;It has driven me to this point and hopefully it will drive me to the next level.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011027/8094108-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="275" height="343"><figcaption class="caption-body">Darren Haydar</figcaption></div>Haydar was the second-leading scorer in NCAA hockey a year ago with 31 goals and 76 points for New Hampshire. During his four years at UNH, he scored 102 goals and 219 points and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist as a senior.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the same as in college, I don&rsquo;t want to expect too much, I just want to come in and take it in stride,&rdquo; Haydar said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to set my expectations too high. It&rsquo;s a different game here and I&rsquo;m still learning it.&rdquo;He showed that he learns fast.&ldquo;He sees the ice well, he&rsquo;s good with the puck and he&rsquo;s a good passer,&rdquo; said Milwaukee coach Peter Horachek. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s maybe not the fastest guy in the world compared to some of the other smaller guys in the game, but he certainly has a special ability to get into the open. He has a great knack for offense.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0025-01

College ace Haydar turning heads

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div>As if the crackdown on obstruction fouls wasn&rsquo;t enough for the players in the NHL and American League to absorb, the AHL has added a penalty du jour of its own.A delay of game minor is now assessed to any player who flips the puck out of play from the defensive zone&ndash;inadvertent or not. The AHL&rsquo;s competition committee believes the mandatory assessment of a penalty for a violation that has always been in the rulebook will be beneficial to the flow of the game. It also takes prejudice out of the rulebook in regard to goalies and skaters, since goalies are automatically penalized when they shoot the puck out of play.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a consistency issue and a matter of keeping pucks in play and the game moving,&rdquo; said Jim Mill, AHL vice-president of operations. &ldquo;It used to be a judgment issue and it was a tough call for the referee.&rdquo;As with obstruction tactics, the players will need time to break old habits when it comes to flipping the puck into the crowd to relieve forechecking pressure. In the first weekend, there were 19 delay of game calls on skaters in 21 games.&ldquo;The guys are learning, I know that,&rdquo; Mill said.WELCOME BACK Two defensemen who went a year without a goal, Norfolk&rsquo;s Burke Henry and Cincinnati&rsquo;s Peter Podhradsky, found the net on opening weekend.Henry scored in Norfolk&rsquo;s 4-3 win at Bridgeport. He was goalless in 58 games last season. Podhradsky scored in the Ducks&rsquo; 7-4 loss at Chicago after going 49 games without a goal last year.<h2>AHL WEST NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02695/8094153-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="242" height="232"></div>LITTLE BIG AGAIN Neil Little finished second in the AHL with a 2.02 goals-against average last season and he couldn&rsquo;t have been better on opening night when he stopped 29 shots&ndash;including two breakaways&ndash;in a 1-0 overtime victory over Rochester. Little outdueled Amerks rookie Ryan Miller, who stopped 21 shots, but was beaten by Mark Greig in overtime.NOTEBOOK Utah rookie goalie Jason Bacashihua, a first round pick (26th overall) of Dallas in 2001, stopped 46 shots in a 3-1 loss at Houston in his pro debut&hellip;Mark Freer scored two goals for Hershey in a 6-3 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Freer, a free agent signee, last played for the Bears 11 years ago&hellip;After going 35-0-4 last season when leading after two periods, Grand Rapids squandered a 4-2 lead on opening night and lost 6-4 to Cleveland.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03469/8094146-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="1249" height="1839"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ninth-year pro Neil Little is off to another great start with the Philadelphia Phantoms. The 30-year-old has 150 career AHL victories.</figcaption></div><h2>AHL</h2>SCOUTING REPORT<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04304/8094139-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="337" height="456"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jason Bacashihua</figcaption></div>VITAL STATISTICSHometown: Garden City, Mich.Age: 20 Size: 5-11,175LAST AMATEUR CLUBPlymouth (OHL)POSITION Goaltender2002-03 SEASONUtah GrizzliesGP W-L-T GAA SP1 0-1-0 2.01 .959NHL AFFILIATIONDallas StarsNOTEWORTHYDrafted 26th overall by Dallas in 2001&hellip;Played two seasons with Chicago in the North American Jr. League before one season in the OHL&hellip;Ranked No. 1 on Dallas&rsquo; 2002 Future Watch list, 30th league-wide.BOTTOM LINEHe has excelled at every level and is ready for the pro challenge. Relying on balance and reflexes, it&rsquo;s easy to see he idolized Ed Belfour while growing up. He&rsquo;ll need a few years of AHL experience to refine his game. &#9632;

f0025-02

Gradual adjustment to delay crackdown

<div class="byline">BY ROB MUELLER</div>The latest installment of &ldquo;Only in the Coast&rdquo; takes us to North Carolina, where the Charlotte Checkers generated enough buzz in the East Coast League opener to last an entire season.The Checkers opened Oct. 11 with a 5-2 win over the defending Kelly Cup-champion Greenville Grrrowl, as Takahito Suzuki became the first Japanese player in league history to notch a hat trick. Suzuki, 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, averaged more than a point a game in three years in the Japan League.Three days later, though, the ECHL stripped Charlotte of the victory, handing them a 1-0 forfeit loss for using an illegal player.The player in question was forward Paul Traynor, who joined the Checkers after he was released by Rochester of the American League. Unbeknownst to coach Don MacAdam, Traynor&rsquo;s ECHL rights belonged to the South Carolina Stingrays.<h2>NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-05217/8094184-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg" title="f0025-05" width="194" height="203"></div>&ldquo;While this situation was the result of an unintentional error, teams are responsible for ensuring each of their players are eligible according to league rules,&rdquo; said ECHL president Brian McKenna.The next day, South Carolina traded Traynor to Trenton for future considerations. The Checkers wanted him, but couldn&rsquo;t work out a deal because minority owner Jerry Zooker also is a part-owner of the Stingrays.The ECHL prohibits trades between teams with dual owners.INSURANCE SETTLEMENT For a second straight year, ECHL owners voluntarily agreed to increase funding of players health insurance. The collective bargaining agreement only calls for teams to pay a fixed rate, but the owners will kick in an extra 7.5 per cent this season, while players will pay an extra $1 a day in their union dues to offset rising premiums.NOTEBOOK Reading Royals right winger Brian McCullough scored the first hat trick in team history Oct. 11. McCullough, 25, tied for the Richmond Renegades&rsquo; scoring lead as a rookie in 2000-01 and played for Quad City in the United League last season. &#9632;

f0025-05

Landmark display stripped from record book

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div>Justin Papineau is certain his decision to re-enter the NHL draft in 2000 could not have turned out better.The St. Louis Blues prospect, now a 22-year-old center with the American League&rsquo;s Worcester IceCats, was a second round pick (46th overall) by the Los Angeles Kings in 1998. But when his junior production with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Belleville Bulls declined from 52 goals to 40 in 1999-2000, it brought the Ottawa native to a crossroads.&ldquo;I had some negative feedback from L.A. when it was time to sign,&rdquo; Papineau said. &ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t think I had such a great year, but I still scored 40 goals.&ldquo;I wanted a fresh start where I&rsquo;d have a better chance of playing in the NHL. I think it turned out to be a great decision.&rdquo;When he re-entered the draft in 2000, St. Louis selected Papineau in the third round (75th overall).Last season, he shared the AHL lead in goals, at 38, with IceCats teammate Eric Boguniecki.Then this fall, Papineau rattled the Boston Bruins for five goals in the Blues&rsquo; first pre-season game.&ldquo;A few for the highlight reel, too,&rdquo; said IceCats GM-president John Ferguson Jr.Papineau&rsquo;s five-goal exhibition game, however, did not earn him an NHL roster spot. The 5-foot-10,178-pounder received one of the final assignments to Worcester&ndash;and scored in his first game against Manitoba.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011154/8094215-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="269" height="341"><figcaption class="caption-body">Justin Papineau</figcaption></div>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s here to be more dependable in his all-round game and more consistent in the faceoff circle,&rdquo; Ferguson said. &ldquo;He needs to be aware of those two-way responsibilities, which gives the coach confidence to put you out there. He&rsquo;s getting better at that. And there&rsquo;s no better place to do that than in the AHL.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0026-01

Cat finds good home in Worcester

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div>The American League&rsquo;s return to Binghamton, N.Y., after a five-year absence, provided fans with a fog-filled, exciting game.The Binghamton Senators&rsquo; inaugural game and season opener was a 5-4 victory over Bridgeport in overtime. The Sens&rsquo; Brian Pothier poked a puck&ndash;lost from almost everyone&rsquo;s sight due to foggy ice conditions after it had caromed off the glass&ndash;past Bridgeport goalie Rick DiPietro.&ldquo;The fog was terrible,&rdquo; said DiPietro about the goal, which came 47 seconds into the extra frame. &ldquo;(The puck) wrapped around and I didn&rsquo;t see where it went.&rdquo;Among the 4,315 at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena who took in the opener was AHL president David Andrews. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important to have Binghamton back because it was always a strong AHL city,&rdquo; Andrews said.STRONG STATEMENT Center Derek Armstrong, who played last year with Bern of the German League, returned to North America in style with a hat trick in Manchester&rsquo;s 6-3 win Oct. 12 at Lowell.The AHL&rsquo;s 2000-01 MVP made a great first impression with the parent Los Angeles Kings, too.&ldquo;We had a really tough cut to make,&rdquo; said assistant GM Kevin Gilmore to the Manchester Union-Leader. &ldquo;He was the last guy. I have no doubt we&rsquo;ll see Derek in L.A.&rdquo;KOROLEV ON LOKOMOTIV Bridgeport can forget about any help from defenseman Evgeny Korolev, who played 53 games last season for the Sound Tigers.Korolev, 24, has been loaned to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in Russia for the remainder of the season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really where he wanted to be, so we made it happen,&rdquo; said Sound Tigers coach Steve Stirling to the Connecticut Post. &ldquo;If he doesn&rsquo;t want to be here, it&rsquo;s no fun for us. It&rsquo;s no fun for anybody.&rdquo;<h2>AHL EAST NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02811/8094253-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="240" height="238"></div>NOTEBOOK In the first 26 games of this AHL season compared to the first 26 games of 2001-02, scoring increased from 158 goals to 179. That&rsquo;s a jump from 6.1 goals per game to 6.9.Though too early to draw conclusions, first-week play in the league led Lowell coach Ron Smith to think he&rsquo;d be wise to get ahead of the curve on adapting to a new era of stricter enforcement on obstruction.&ldquo;Our traditional standards of what&rsquo;s good defense are right out the window now,&rdquo; Smith said.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03654/8094246-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="1315" height="1902"><figcaption class="caption-body">Moscow native Evgeny Korolev decided to return to Russia rather than play in the AHL a fifth season. Korolev, 24, played in Bridgeport last year.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0026-02

Sens win opener on puck lost in fog

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Pavel Barta </div><div class="byline">&#x2014;Brendan Savage</div><div class="byline">&#x2014;Chadd Cripe</div><div class="byline">&#x2014;David Henry</div><div class="byline">&#x2014;Nick Gates</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04470/8094284-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="474" height="326"></div>Future and former NHLers are among the top performers in Europe. Here are four such players with position, age and NHL rights.&#9633; Christian Matte, RW, 27 (Buffalo). Matte played just 25 games during five NHL seasons. He had 10 goals and 19 points in 15 games with Zurich Lions in the Swiss League.&#9633; Joel Lundqvist, C, 20 (Dallas). Stars&rsquo; third choice (68th overall) in 2000 was the Swedish League&rsquo;s top goal-scorer with six and had nine points after nine games with Vastra Frolunda.&#9633; Richard Shulmistra, G, 31 (free agent). Shulmistra, who played in just two career NHL games, led all German League goaltenders with a.952 SP in 10 games with the Berlin IceBears.&#9633; David Nemirovsky, RW, 26 (free agent). The former Florida/Toronto farmhand was the top scorer for the Finnish League&rsquo;s Ilves Tampere with six goals and 12 points in 10 games.&#9633; Tomas Vlasak, LW, 27 (Los Angeles). The Czech winger played 10 games with the Kings in 2000-01. He had five goals and 13 points in 12 games with Avangard Omsk in the Russian League.<h2>UNITED LEAGUE</h2>Fort Wayne lost Pokey Reddick until late October or early November when the former NHL goalie separated his right shoulder with 13 minutes left in the Komets&rsquo; United League opener versus Rockford. Reddick, 38, allowed all of Rockford&rsquo;s goals in a 5-2 loss before being injured. That means the net-minding duties fall to rookie Scott Rideout, who has only played two pro games, and Tom Lawson, who missed all of last season after injuring his knee while playing in the season opener for Anchorage of the West Coast League.<h2>WEST COAST LEAGUE</h2>Former Canadian women&rsquo;s team goalie Danielle Dube saw action for the Long Beach Ice Dogs in their opener against San Diego Oct. 12. Dube made the Ice Dogs as the backup while starter Mike Buzak recovers from an injury. The 26-year-old Dube mopped up in the third period of a 6-0 loss, stopping 12 of 13 shots. &ldquo;I felt good, but a little nervous,&rdquo; she said to the Long Beach PressTelegram. She won over her new teammates with her talent. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like she&rsquo;s a girl, but more like a goalie with long hair,&rdquo; said right winger Roger Maxwell.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>Last season, Memphis left winger Don Parsons led the RiverKings to the President&rsquo;s Cup. Now Parsons is hoping to have the same positive impact on the research, treatment and awareness of deafness as he does on his team. Parsons is raising money for a school for the deaf at the University of Tennessee where his deaf daughter, six-month-old Maggie, receives therapy. Parsons, who led the Central League with 54 goals last year, is seeking pledges for every goal he scores this season. Donations are being accepted through the team.<h2>ATLANTIC COAST LEAGUE</h2>The late entry of the Macon Trax into the Atlantic Coast League&ndash;the franchise didn&rsquo;t officially open its doors until Sept. 17&ndash;put owner David Adams and coach Brian Curran in a comer, but they&rsquo;ve worked hard to catch up to their rivals. &ldquo;We sold about 400 season tickets in three weeks,&rdquo; Adams said. Once Macon city council approved the lease, team management moved quickly. &ldquo;I will be adding players. We definitely lack size and we knew that from the start.&rdquo; Curran said. &ldquo;If I had the job a month earlier, that wouldn&rsquo;t be an issue.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0026-04

WORLD watch

<div class="byline">BY JIM CRESSMAN</div>Retirement wasn&rsquo;t sitting well with Ryan Hare, so the 20-year-old center chose to return to hockey&ndash;and that&rsquo;s just fine with the London Knights.The Knights were first in the Ontario League&rsquo;s Midwest Division after Hare scored six goals and 13 points in five games.&ldquo;I have a chance to be in a scoring role and to play with some good players&hellip;I also think I have a good chance to win with this team,&rdquo; said Hare, obtained by the Knights from the Sarnia Sting Sept. 23 for an eighth round midget draft pick.Hare played four years with his hometown Sting. Last year, he had 11 goals and 28 points in 58 games.Hare had informed the Sting over the summer he wouldn&rsquo;t be back for his overage season. Instead, he was heading to London (Ont.) to attend the University of Western Ontario and mulling over playing for the Mustangs. That is, until Knights-GM Mark Hunter made some inquiries to the Sting and to Hare about his availability and desire to return.&ldquo;The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to give my last year in the OHL a chance,&rdquo; Hare said.NIFTY DIGS The London Knights christened their new home arena, the $45-million John Labatt Centre, with a 5-4 come-from-behind win Oct. 11 over the Plymouth Whalers in front of a sellout of 9,140.Seventeen-year-old Knights winger Dylan Hunter, son of team co-owner/coach Dale Hunter, was impressed with the building.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011101/8094315-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="434" height="232"></div>&ldquo;This place is unreal; it&rsquo;s a miniature NHL arena,&rdquo; said the younger Hunter, who watched his father play in a half-dozen bigleague arenas before he retired.ICEDOGS ON SHORT LEASH When he took over as coach-GM of the Mississauga IceDogs, Steve Ludzik promised things were going to change with the sadsacks of the Canadian Hockey League.Ludzik made his point when he sent home overage defenseman Mike Barrett for missing curfew by 15 minutes. Ludzik was attempting to trade the 20-year-old, who&rsquo;s in his fifth OHL season.&ldquo;Mike&rsquo;s a good kid and a good player, but there has to be discipline on this hockey club,&rdquo; Ludzik said.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question we&rsquo;re paying a heavy price, but we can&rsquo;t afford to have it any other way.&rdquo;The IceDogs were 2-5-3-0 under new ownership and management after winning only 27 of 272 games in their first four years.NO FLIPPING The OHL has taken a hard line against players flipping the puck into the seats.Mississauga center Greg Jacina and Brampton left winger Adam Henrich were both suspended five games by commissioner David Branch after they flipped pucks into the seats at separate games.&ldquo;At no time should any player ever become involved with spectators,&rdquo; Branch said. &ldquo;This is not a reaction to the tragedy that occurred in Columbus (last season) because this action is something we&rsquo;ve always taken seriously.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0027-01

Return of overager Hare lifts London

<div class="byline">BY WILLY PALOV</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02735/8094346-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="388" height="269"></div>This season is not turning out as predicted for the Victoriaville Tigres. As far as they&rsquo;re concerned, that&rsquo;s a great thing.The defending Quebec League-champion Tigres should be in a rebuilding year. They lost four 100-point scorers, the league&rsquo;s top defenseman and their No. 1 goaltender to graduation. Times should be tough in 2002-03.But instead, Victoriaville was sitting in first place overall after the first month of play with a 10-1-1-0 record.&ldquo;It feels good because we&rsquo;re proving a lot of people wrong,&rdquo; said defenseman Jeff Smith. &ldquo;We always believed we&rsquo;d have a good team this year, but we&rsquo;ve gotten off to such an unbelievable start that I think sometimes we feel like we&rsquo;ve even surprised ourselves.&rdquo;The most remarkable part of Victoria-ville&rsquo;s hot start is they&rsquo;ve done it with a largely no-name lineup. Unlike previous years when the Tigres&rsquo; hallmark was an abundance of star power, this team&rsquo;s identity is about grit and overachieving.Players who previously were no more than role players are now carrying the load.&ldquo;Guys like me are getting a chance on the power play and other parts of the game we never got to play before,&rdquo; said Smith, who had nine points in 11 games after scoring six all of last season. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all making the most of it.&rdquo;SNIPERS RETURN Just when things looked their bleakest for the struggling Rimouski Oceanic and Chicoutimi Sagueneens, both got some unexpected good fortune.The Oceanic welcomed back right winger Ryan Clowe to the team after he was re-assigned by the San Jose Sharks and the Sagueneens received center Christian Larrivee courtesy of the Montreal Canadiens.The two overagers have been signed to three-year contracts by their respective NHL teams and were expected to launch their pro careers this season.Larrivee scored 48 goals and 100 points in 72 games with the Sagueneens last year while Clowe had 28 goals and 73 points in 53 games for the Oceanic.CATARACTES LOSE DAVID The news on the overage front wasn&rsquo;t so good for the Shawinigan Cataractes.They suffered another major blow when defenseman Jean-Francois David signed a three-year deal with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American League. David was a QMJHL second-team all-star last year after scoring 21 goals and 70 points in 70 games.The Cataractes already had to adjust to the loss of 20-year-old center Jonathan Bellemare, the league&rsquo;s fourth-leading scorer last season with 124 points. He is gone until at least November with a badly broken leg.The Cataractes stumbled to a 1-7-1-2 start without David and Bellemare.MORENCY TRADED Hull traded right winger Pascal Morency to Rouyn-Noranda after just four games with the Olympiques.A 5-foot-10,171-pound agitator, who set a QMJHL record for penalty minutes last season with 596, Morency wasn&rsquo;t fitting in with the Olympiques after arriving in an off-season trade with Cape Breton.Morency was traded for a second or third round pick at the 2003 midget draft. &#9632;

f0027-02

Surprising Tigres off to terrific start

<div class="byline">BY ROB VANSTONE</div>Hockey has suddenly become secondary for Regina Pats&rsquo; center Matt Hubbauer.Hubbauer has been diagnosed with a tumor in his left sinus area. Although the growth is not believed to be malignant, Hubbauer&rsquo;s Western League career is on hold until after Christmas, at the earliest.&ldquo;My whole life, all I&rsquo;ve really worried about was hockey,&rdquo; said Hubbauer, 19. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a situation where you have to put everything aside and see where your priorities are at. Right now, I have to worry about my health.&rdquo;The tumor was discovered after Hubbauer underwent a CAT scan to determine the extent of a concussion&ndash;his third in a nine-month period.He sustained the most recent concussion in September during a free agent tryout with the NHL&rsquo;s Detroit Red Wings.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t expect anything like (the tumor) to ever happen, but it did and it has to be dealt with,&rdquo; Hubbauer said. &ldquo;Right now, I&rsquo;m not playing hockey and I don&rsquo;t know when I&rsquo;ll be able to, but hopefully it&rsquo;s sooner than later.&rdquo; Hubbauer&rsquo;s 48 goals placed him third in the WHL last season. The Winnipeg-born speedster did not return to the Pats&rsquo; lineup after being sent back by Detroit.&ldquo;We never know what the future of these things will hold if Matt is to take another blow to the head,&rdquo; said Pats&rsquo; team physician Ian Hill. &ldquo;Matt&rsquo;s health and future is our main concern, so we&rsquo;ve taken him off the ice.&rdquo;Hubbauer is to undergo various forms of treatment, including medication and radiation. Doctors are hoping to reduce the size of the tumor before it is surgically removed.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04356/8094377-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="388" height="265"></div>ROCKET FUEL The Kelowna Rockets received a boost when center Kiel McLeod returned after being unable to agree to contract terms with Columbus.The Blue Jackets selected the 6-foot-6, 232-pound McLeod in the second round (53rd overall) of the 2001 draft.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s disappointing they weren&rsquo;t able to get anything done (with a contract), but I&rsquo;m excited to be back in Kelowna,&rdquo; said McLeod, who had 17 goals and 48 points in 41 games during an injury-plagued 2001-02 season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy to be back and see the guys. It&rsquo;s familiar territory.&rdquo;After seven games with Kelowna this season, McLeod had two goals and five points.&ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t a kid playing hockey in Canada who doesn&rsquo;t want to play at the pro level,&rdquo; said McLeod, who is represented by agent Herb Pinder Jr. &ldquo;I still have that goal. It&rsquo;s strong and alive. It has taken a little longer than I thought it would, but that&rsquo;s the way it goes. (The NHL) is in the back of my mind. My priority is to help the team here.&rdquo;TWIN SHUTOUTS The Vancouver Giants waited 82 games to register the first shutout in their history. But they ended the drought with a flourish&ndash;thanks to back-to-back shutouts by goalie Jordan McLaughlin.McLaughlin made 26 saves in a 3-0 whitewash of visiting Lethbridge Oct. 12. Two days later, McLaughlin&rsquo;s 25-save performance backstopped the Giants to a 6-0 home-ice victory over Seattle. The win evened Vancouver&rsquo;s record at 5-5-1-0.The Vancouver Giants are a second-year WHL franchise. &#9632;

f0027-04

Pats lose Hubbauer as tumor diagnosed

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Paul Shaheen</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03515/8094408-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="433" height="128"></div>Cedar Rapids coach Mark Carlson is obviously a strong believer in the axiom that, says if you want to make discipline stick, you have to stick to the discipline.Going into an Oct. 11 game at Green Bay, Carlson was already short three forwards due to injury, yet he opted to sit out two others who had violated team rules.So it was all the more surprising when the Roughriders earned a remarkable 3-0 victory over the Gamblers, thanks to stellar goaltending from rookie Wes Russell and two points from Providence College recruit Kevin Brooks.&ldquo;Even though we only had nine forwards, we said before the game, &lsquo;No one beats the Roughriders,&rsquo;&rdquo; Carlson said. &ldquo;That was sort of our battle cry.&rdquo;Back on home ice the next day&ndash;and with one additional forward in uniform&ndash;Cedar Rapids outshot visiting Sioux Falls 44-18, yet lost 5-1 due to the brilliance of Stampede netminder Kellen Briggs. &#9632;

f0027-03

UNITED STATES LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY PHILIP COLVIN</div>After seven seasons coaching pro hockey, new Northern Michigan coach Walt Kyle is back to his college roots.Kyle was a star forward with the Wildcats from 1979through 1981 and served as Northern Michigan assistant coach under Rick Comley for 10 seasons before moving to the pro ranks in 1994.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011142/8094439-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="395" height="219"></div>&ldquo;Northern Michigan has always played a big part in my family&rsquo;s life,&rdquo; said Kyle, who took the job after Comley left to take over at Michigan State. &ldquo;It was a chance to take our kids home, raise them here and be involved with a program that is important to us.&rdquo;In his first stint in Marquette, Kyle captained the Wildcats to two berths in the Frozen Four and was the top assistant when Northern Michigan won the national championship in 1991.Kyle inherits a Wildcats team that could unseat Michigan or Michigan State as Central Collegiate Hockey Association champs this season.&ldquo;We want to make sure we&rsquo;re getting the best athletes we can and be aggressive and sound defensively,&rdquo; Kyle said. &ldquo;That was the blueprint Rick had and the blueprint I hope to follow.&rdquo;ANALYSIS The CCHA adopted the 15-second faceoff rule used at the Olympics in an effort to reduce time between whistles and improve the pace of games.After all stoppages, except games with TV timeouts, the referee starts the 15-second clock by signaling to the visiting team that they may change players. After five seconds, the referee then puts up his hand to the visiting team, signaling that the home team has five seconds to change. After another five seconds, the official conducting the faceoff blows a quick whistle. Then, after the final five seconds, the puck is dropped.DRAFT WATCH Few freshmen have received as much hype this season as Michigan forward Jeff Tambellini, the son of ex-NHLer Steve Tambellini.A great skater, Tambellini has a big shot off the wing and has drawn comparisons to former Wolverine Brendan Morrison for his scoring ability While NHL scouts would love to see Tambellini get involved in front of the net, he is strong on his skates, competes hard and oozes hockey sense.&ldquo;He has a way of finding the space he needs to score,&rdquo; said Michigan assistant coach Billy Powers. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s setting up in front of the net on your power play, you&rsquo;re probably making a mistake.&rdquo;Tambellini is rated 63rd for the 2003 NHL draft by the Red Line Report.NOTEBOOK Alaska-Fairbanks&rsquo; 4-0 win over Alaska-Anchorage Oct. 12 was the Nanooks&rsquo; first road shutout since Jan. 6,1991 (vs. Air Force) and just their second whitewash of the Seawolves in the 115-game history between the state rivals. &#9632;

f0028-01

Return to Wildcats chance for Kyle to give back

<div class="byline">BY LARRY MAHONEY</div>He said he is &ldquo;still stinging&rdquo; from April&rsquo;s heart-breaking NCAA championship overtime loss to Minnesota. The Gophers forced overtime by scoring with 52.4 seconds left in their 4-3 triumph. But the elixir for Maine coach Tim Whitehead&rsquo;s pain is getting administered. It&rsquo;s a new season and another chance at a NCAA title.&ldquo;We just want to get back,&rdquo; said Whitehead, 41. &ldquo;If we do, we&rsquo;ll get another opportunity to do something special.&rdquo;Last year was a difficult one for the program because 18-year coach Shawn Walsh, who elevated the program into a national power with seven Frozen Four appearances and two NCAA titles, lost his battle with kidney cancer Sept. 24.Walsh had hand-picked Whitehead as an assistant who would take over if Walsh had to miss time due to his cancer.After a 7-5-2 start, the Bears went 10-1-2 down the stretch and Whitehead was named U.S. college coach of the year.&ldquo;Last year was the most enjoyable and most challenging of my career,&rdquo; said Whitehead, who spent five years at UMass-Lowell. &ldquo;I grew a lot as a coach.&rdquo;He said the ordeal of Walsh&rsquo;s death brought the team closer together and&ndash;that bond is just as strong this season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very pleased with how close-knit this team is,&rdquo; Whitehead said. &ldquo;A lot of that is because of what we went through together last year.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02788/8094470-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="391" height="222"></div>SPOTLIGHT With five defensemen back from last season, including 2002 first-rounder Ryan Whitney, Boston University&rsquo;s strength is on the blueline. Aiding the cause is the exceptional play of freshmen Jekabs Redlihs and Danny Spang. Redlihs, a native of Latvia, was MVP of the Ice Breaker Tournament. He had a goal and two assists in two games, including the 5-1 title game win over RPI.PROSPECT WATCH UMass-Lowell senior Mark Concannon, a third round draft pick of San Jose in 1999, is a prototypical two-way grinding winger.&ldquo;Mark has a strong upper body, he&rsquo;s quick and has soft hands,&rdquo; said UMass-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald about the 22-year-old from Hull, Mass., who is 6-feet and 206 pounds.&ldquo;He reminds me of Michael Grier. He&rsquo;s athletic and elusive. His work ethic is unparalleled and he has great passion for the game.&rdquo;Concannon had a personal-best eight goals and 21 points in 38 games last year.NOTEBOOK Boston University&rsquo;s win over RPI in the Ice Breaker final Oct. 12 was the 1,200th in BU&rsquo;s history. Current coach Jack Parker has 656 of them. &#9632;

f0028-02

Black Bears hope emotional season carries over into championship run

<div class="byline">BY TOM BOGGIE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03577/8094501-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="391" height="221"></div>For two seasons, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute&rsquo;s offense rested in the hands of two players. This year, it will have to be scoring by committee.Marc Cavosie and Matt Murley were the big guns in RPI&rsquo;s arsenal the past two years. Murley graduated and is in the Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; system, while Cavosie, the 2002 Eastern College Athletic Conference player of the year, left school after his junior year to join the Minnesota Wild.That left Engineers coach Dan Fridgen with a no-name attack&ndash;and that&rsquo;s the way he likes it.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t rely on any one person,&rdquo; Fridgen said. &ldquo;But if we play disciplined hockey, we&rsquo;ll get our opportunities.&rdquo;No one is going to score with the proficiency Cavosie and Murley did last year, as they combined for 47 goals and 96 points in 37 games. But a few players who have struggled to score in the past have already picked up the slack.In RPI&rsquo;s surprising 5-1 win over Wisconsin in the opening round of the Ice Breaker Tournament in Madison, Wisc., Fridgen received scoring from some previously untapped reserves.Junior Mikael Hammarstrom and sophomore Nick Economakos each had a goal, matching their entire total from2001-02. Sophomore Vic Pereira and junior Ben Barr also scored. Pereira had two goals in 21 games last year and Barr had two in 29 games.&ldquo;It was nice to get five goals when the only thing everyone was saying about us was we lost our top scorers,&rdquo; Fridgen said. &ldquo;I know it sounds simple, but what we did was shoot the puck.&rdquo;ANALYSIS If Dartmouth gets off to a slow start this year, a young and untested group of forwards might be the reason. Of the 15 forwards, six are freshmen and four are sophomores. And freshmen Hugh Jessiman and Garret Overlook don&rsquo;t turn 19 until next spring.SPOTLIGHT When senior Dom Moore was named the 107th captain in Harvard hockey history, he also became part of a trivia question.Moore and his brother, Steve, who was Harvard&rsquo;s captain in 2000-01, are the only brothers who both served as Crimson captains.NOTEBOOK When Vermont defenseman Chris Mounsey wants to talk hockey, he can call his cousin, Tara, who is one of the best women&rsquo;s players in the world and a member of the U.S. Olympic team&hellip;St. Lawrence freshman John Zeiler&rsquo;s first career goal was the game-winner as the Saints defeated Miami (Ohio) 5-3 Oct. 4. &#9632;

f0028-03

Engineers aim to manufacture offense after loss of snipers Cavosie, Murley

<div class="byline">BY ANDY BAGGOT</div>It didn&rsquo;t take long for North Dakota center Zach Parise to confirm suspicions that he can be a difference-maker in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association as a rookie.Parise, an 18-year-old freshman, recorded a hat trick and assist in his collegiate debut as the Fighting Sioux whomped Canisius 8-0 in the semifinal of the Punch Imlach College Hockey Showcase in Buffalo, N.Y., Oct. 11.As if to prove the four-point outing was not a fluke, Parise turned in another one as North Dakota beat Michigan 5-4 in overtime in the final the following night. He had two goals and two assists, including a conversion late in regulation that helped erase a 4-2 deficit.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04397/8094532-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="388" height="220"></div>Parise, 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, was the unanimous choice of WCHA coaches to be named top rookie. That kind of hoopla does not faze him. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel pressure at all,&rdquo; said Parise to the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something I think about. To me, it&rsquo;s just another game to go out and play.&rdquo; But Parise was jittery enough before his college debut that linemate Brandon Bochenski, the WCHA top rookie last season, offered a few memorable words.&ldquo;I was nervous before the game, but then Brandon asked me if I ever played a game before,&rdquo; Parise recalled. &ldquo;He said, &lsquo;Well, this is the same thing. Just go out and play another game.&rsquo;&rdquo;SPOTLIGHT One game into its defense of the NCAA title, Minnesota encountered some adversity.Junior captain Grant Potulny sustained a broken bone in his lower left leg during a season-opening 7-2 win over Ohio State Oct. 12. Potulny is expected to be sidelined until midNovember, which is a long time for a club with as much youth as the Gophers.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s disappointing,&rdquo; said coach Don Lucia to the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press, said. &ldquo;You lose your captain and kind of your inspirational guy. It&rsquo;ll certainly hurt us in the short term.&rdquo;PROSPECT WATCH Wisconsin returned five of its top six defenseman from last season, but freshman Tom Gilbert showed early on that he warrants major playing time.&ldquo;I like a lot of things Tommy Gilbert did for the first couple games,&rdquo; said Badgers coach Mike Eaves after Gilbert had a goal and assist in the Icebreaker Invitational Oct. 11-12.Gilbert was the 129th overall selection of Colorado in the 2002 NHL draft.NOTEBOOK Four WCHA coaches are running the show at their alma maters: Mike Eaves, John Hill at Alaska-Anchorage, Scott Owens at Colorado College and Troy Jutting at Minnesota State-Mankato. &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

November 1, 2002

Upcoming In The Hockey World

TIMEOUT WITH JEREMY ROENICK

Elston

Hard-working LeClair turns back the clock