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 22, 2002

The Hockey News November 22, 2002

<div class="byline">-Paul Shaheen</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03459/7191467-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="450" height="127"></div>River City&rsquo;s Paul Stastny has the pedigree to be a star player, plus a lot more.The 16-year-old center is the son of Hall of Famer Peter Stastny. Paul&rsquo;s older brother Yan, an eighth round pick of Boston in 2002, also played for River City and is now a sophomore forward at Notre Dame.&ldquo;Paul&rsquo;s a slam dunk (Division 1) player and could go farther,&rdquo; said Lancer coach Mike Hastings. &ldquo;When Yan was here, Peter said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got another one named Paul with better hands than I have.&rsquo; &ldquo;The 5-foot-ll, 185 pound Paul Stastny grew up in St. Louis and is averaging nearly a point per game early in the season. He&rsquo;s eligible for the 2004 draft and is one of a few prospects playing for the Lancers.The others are draft eligible this season and include defenseman Matt Carle, who is committed to Denver; 6-foot-5, 204 pound defenseman Tim Cook, a Michigan recruit; and goalie Dominic Vicari, who&rsquo;s earmarked for Michigan State next fall. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

UNITED STATES LEAGUE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01445/7191935-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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AMERICAN LEAGUE GOALTENDING STATISTICS & SCOREBOARD

Transactions include NHL personnel moves from Nov. 2-8. Injuries include projected return date.<h2>ANAHEIM</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 3 Mike Brown, LW, recalled from Cincinnati (AHL). Nov. 4 Jean-Francois Damphousse, G, recalled from Cincinnati. Nov. 5 Jason Krog, C, assigned to Cincinnati.INJURIES Adam Oates. C, broken left hand, early December.<h2>ATLANTA</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 2 Tomi Kallio, LW, suspended indefinitely tor refusing assignment to Chicago (AHL). INJURIES Uwe Krupp. D. back surgery, indefinite. Jeff Cowan. LW, sprained knee, early December. Lubos Bartecko, LW, fractured wrist, late December.<h2>BOSTON</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 3 Peter Hamerlik, G, returned to Kingston (OHL). Nov. 5 Jarno Kultanen, D recalled from Providence (AHL).INJURIES Martin Lapointe. RW, broken left foot, late November. Sergei Samsonov, LW, right wrist sprain, day-to-day.<h2>BUFFALO</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 8 Alexei Zhitnik, D, suspended two games by NHL for kneeing incident in a Nov. 7 game. INJURIES Maxim Afinogenov, RW. concussion, indefinite. Henrik Tallinder, D, separated shoulder, late November. Miroslav Satan. RW, bruised hip, day-to-day.<h2>CALGARY</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 3 Dany Sabourin, G, recalled from Saint John (AHL). Nov. 5 Levente Szuper, G, recalled from Saint John. Sabourin returned to Saint John. INJURIES Craig Conroy, C, bruised foot, day-to-day. Roman Turek. G, broken finger, indefinite. Jamie Wright, LW, neck, day-to-day.<h2>CAROLINA</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 4 Jeff Heerema, RW, recalled from Lowell (AHL). Nov. 5 Heerema assigned to Lowell. INJURIES Josef Vasicek. C, back spasms, day-to-day. Erik Cole, RW, Charley horse, day-to-day. Jan Hlavac, LW, Charley horse, day-to-day.<h2>CHICAGO</h2>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES Eric Daze, LW, back surgery, day-to-day. Bob Probert, LW, strained groin, day-to-day. Alexander Karpovtsev. D, broken right ankle, indefinite.<h2>COLORADO</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 4 Phil Sauve, G, recalled from Hershey (AHL). Nov. 5 Jeff Paul, D, assigned to Hershey. Nov. 7 Bryan Muir, D, recalled from Hershey.INJURIES Patrick Roy, G, sore left hip, day-to-day. Dean McAmmond. LW, strained lower back, indefinite.<h2>COLUMBUS</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 2 Jean-Francois Labbe, G, assigned to Syracuse (AHL). Nov. 3 Labbe recalled from Syracuse. Nov. 5 Kevin Dineen, RW. retired. Nov. 7 Matt Davidson, RW, recalled from Syracuse.INJURIES Lasse Pirjeta RW, separated shoulder, late November, Espen Knutsen, C, strained groin, midNovember.<h2>DALLAS</h2>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES None.<h2>DETROIT</h2>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES Steve Yzerman, C, right knee surgery, February. Dmitri Bykov, D, sore shoulder, midNovember.<h2>EDMONTON</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 4 Ales Pisa, D, recalled from Hamilton, (AHL). Nov. 5 Marty Reasoner, C, assigned to Hamilton.INJURIES None.<h2>FLORIDA</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 2 Jeff Toms, C, and Denis Shvidki, RW, assigned to San Antonio (AHL) Nov. 5 Toms recalled from San Antonio. Nov. 7 Wade Flaherty, G, recalled from San Antonio. Toms assigned to San Antonio.INJURIES Branislav Mezei, D, broken ankle, late-November.<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 7 Mike Cammalleri, LW, recalled from Manchester (AHL). Steve Kelly, C, assigned to Manchester.INJURIES Jason Allison, C, torn right knee ligaments, early February. Mikko Eloranta, LW, left knee sprain, indefinite.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 2 Zyuzin, D claimed off waivers from New Jersey.INJURIES Darby Hendrickson, C, broken left arm, December. Bill Muckalt, RW, dislocated right shoulder, late-November. Luhomir Sekeras. D, partially dislocated shoulder, mid-November.<h2>MONTREAL</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 8 Mathieu Garon, G, waived. Garon, Mike Ribiero, C, and Ron Hainsey, D, assigned to Hamilton (AHL).INJURIES Sheldon Souray, D, broken left wrist, early December. Gino Odjick. RW, concussion, indefinite. Stephane Quintal. D, torn finger ligament, day-to-day.<h2>NASHVILLE</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 5 Scottie Upshall. LW, reassigned to Kamloops (WHL). Domenic Pittis, LW, recalled from Milwaukee (AHL). Vernon Fiddler, C, assigned to Milwaukee. Nov. 7 Cameron Mann, RW, recalled from Milwaukee.INJURIES Scott Walker. RW, torn chest cartilage, late November. Greg Johnson, C, concussion, indefinite. Vitali Yachmenev, LW, broken thumb, early December. Denis Pederson, RW, torn biceps, early December.<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 6 Christian Berglund, LW, recalled from Albany (AHL).INJURIES Scott Gomez. C, pulled groin, day-to-day.<h2>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 4 Trent Hunter, RW, Eric Manlow, LW, and Mattias Weinhandl, LW, recalled from Bridgeport (AHL). Nov. 6 Ray Schultz., D. assigned to Bridgeport.INJURIES Kevin Haller, D, strained groin, indefinite. Michael Peca, C, knee and shoulder surgery, early December. Oleg Kvasha, RW, fractured ankle, midNovember.<h2>NEW YORK RANGERS</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 4 Dixon Ward, RW, and Ted Donato, LW, recalled from Hartford (AHL). Rico Fata, RW, and Jamie Landmark, C, assigned to Hartford. Nov.7 Jason LaBarbera, G, recalled from Hartford.INJURIES Bobby Holik, C, hip flexor, day-to-day. Dave Karpa, D, torn triceps muscle and elbow laceration, day-to-day.<h2>OTTAWA</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 2 Martin Prusek, G, assigned to Binghamton (AHL). Nov 3 Joel Kwiatkowski, D, assigned to Binghamton, Nov. 4 Prusek and Kwiatkowski recalled from Binghamton.INJURIES Chris Neil, RW, broken left fibula, midNovember. Petr Schastlivy, RW, strained groin, day-to-day. Martin Havlat, RW, strained groin, indefinite.<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 8 Chris McAllister, D, assigned to Philadelphia (AHL).INJURIES Radovan Somik, RW, strained grain, day-to-day.<h2>PHOENIX</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 2 Darcy Hordichuk, LW, suspended 10 games by NHL for abuse of officials during an Oct 31 game. Dan Focht, D, assigned to Springfield (AHL). Nov. 2 Focht recalled from Springfield. Nov. 7 Frank Banham, RW, signed multi-year contract.INJURIES Drake Berehowsky, D, knee surgery, midFebruary. Krys Kolanos. C, post-concussive syndrome, indefinite. Brad May. LW, left shoulder surgery, midDecember. Sean Burke, G, high left ankle sprain, late-November.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 3 Kris Beech, C, and Milan Kraft. C, assigned to Wilkes-Barre (AHL).INJURIES Andrew Ference. D, abdominal surgery, early December. Randy Robitaille, C, broken bone in left foot, mid-November.<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 4 Tom Barrasso, G, signed one-year Contract. Nov. 8 Christian Laflamme, D, and Cody Rudkowsky, G, assigned to Worcester (AHL).INJURIES Chris Pronger, D, wrist and knee surgeries, early April. Rich Pilon, D, recurring wrist pain, indefinite. Brent Johnson, G, high ankle sprain, midNovember Reinhard Divis. G, strained groin, midNovember. Keith Tkachuk, LW, fractured left foot, early December.<h2>SAN JOSE</h2>TRANSACTIONS None.INJURIES Scott Thornton, LW, left shoulder surgery, mid-November.<h2>TAMPA BAY</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 7 Alexander Svitov, C, assigned to Springfield (AHL).INJURIES Brian Holzinger, C, broken left leg, midJanuary.&rsquo;<h2>TORONTO</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 4 Ric Jackman, D, recalled from St. John&rsquo;s (AHL). Nov. 7 Josh Holden, C, recalled from St. John&rsquo;s.INJURIES Gary Roberts, LW. surgery on both shoulders, mid-February. Nik Antropov, C, sprained left knee, mid-November.<h2>VANCOUVER</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 2 Nolan Baumgartner, D, assigned to Manitoba (AHL), Nov. 3 Mats Lindgren. C, signed one-year contract. Nov. 7 Bryan Allen, D, assigned to Manitoba.INJURIES Artem Chubarov. C, hip flexor, day-to-day.<h2>WASHINGTON</h2>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 7 Sebastien Charpentier, G, assigned to Portland (AHL).INJURIES None. &#9632;

DEPARTMENTS

NHL TRANSACTIONS

<div class="byline">BY MARK BRENDER Contributing Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011681/7189595-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cliff Ronning</figcaption></div>If you arrive at the Xcel Energy Center 10 minutes into the game, you already know speed and positioning are paramount. The locals will tell you the clutch-and-grab has been vastly overestimated as a Minnesota art form. It&rsquo;s more about breaking for the holes, moving to open spaces, finding a comfort zone through familiarity with the system.Look, you want a good view in a flushed rink, move fast.The Minnesota Wild, see, have these &ldquo;rush tickets&rdquo; deals. They sell seats to college kids at $29 bucks a pop halfway through the first period. During the game&rsquo;s first few minutes, a team scout-maybe a real scout to keep the payroll down, who&rsquo;s to say?-eyeballs the empty seats in the lower bowl. There aren&rsquo;t many, maybe just 100 a night; the Wild, in their third season, have sold out 90 consecutive games and counting.So when the guy in the seventh row has a late business meeting and can&rsquo;t use his two of the 16,000 season tickets (eat your heart out, Ottawa), the college boys with the best anticipation motor down and sit there for the evening.Hockey smarts, quick feet, discipline&hellip;hey, the Wild have cloned Jacques Lemaire! He&rsquo;s in the ticket booth and behind the bench at the same time!The Wild are already an off-ice juggernaut, second in merchandising behind Detroit and proud seller of a league-high half-million sweaters since the franchise&rsquo;s inception in 1997. They&rsquo;ve got a spiffy rink, committed local ownership and the kind of long-term thinking in the front office that makes Warren Buffet look like a guru in arbitrage. The on-ice juggernaut has followed quicker than expected. That 9-3-2-0 start won&rsquo;t make a lot of local difference beyond boosting TV ratings, which it has, because there isn&rsquo;t much to improve upon. No, the Wild in 2002-03 is about making an impression on everyone else.&ldquo;Every team we play is going to be ready from now on,&rdquo; said goalie Manny Fernandez shortly after the Wild took three out of four points from Colorado in a late-October home-and-home series. &ldquo;If a team is doing well, obviously (the opponents) are going to get ready in different ways. But we&rsquo;re ready for that, too.&rdquo;If the Wild are ready for anything, it&rsquo;s because between Lemaire and GM Doug Risebrough, owners of a combined 14 Stanley Cup rings, they&rsquo;ve seen everything.Risebrough figured any team planning on being competitive in the up-tempo Western Conference needed to be quick. New No. 1 center Cliff Ronning qualifies there. So does budding superstar Marian Gaborik, owner of three of the quickest first steps in the game and the only player this season to have a six-point night (Oct. 26 versus Phoenix).&ldquo;We&rsquo;re a team that has played hard all the time for two years,&rdquo; Risebrough said. &ldquo;We still have the same traits, we just have a little more talent.&rdquo;And while players such as Wes Walz and Antti Laaksonen aren&rsquo;t names that roll off the tongue, they&rsquo;re excellent skaters, dogged checkers and have the ability to counterattack and turn the play quickly up ice, where Lemaire wants it to be. The coach likes offense, honest.No one looking for reasons for the Wild&rsquo;s success can help but put Lemaire near the top of the list. He can take a talented lineup in New Jersey and win a Cup. He can take a blue-collar lineup in Minnesota and win believers.Lemaire&rsquo;s talent is being better than anyone else at conveying to his troops where to be in every conceivable situation and how to react to the puck as a five-man unit.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s his intelligence for the game and communicating that to players,&rdquo; said injured Wild center Darby Hendrickson.Lemaire prepares for specific situations that rarely get the attention of some coaches, things like how to defend a 5-on-3 power play late against a particular team.&ldquo;He sees a situation we may be in tomorrow or a week from now and he&rsquo;s preparing for it now,&rdquo; Hendrickson said. &ldquo;A thing like that might be overlooked, but we do it and the game&rsquo;s still tied and we win in over time&hellip; He&rsquo;s a guy whose players get better playing for him.&rdquo;It also helps that Minnesota is getting a superb bounce-back season from Fernandez and equally excellent work from No. 2 man Dwayne Roloson.And when Gaborik surges into a tie for the NHL goal-scoring lead with Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Alexei Kovalev, no matter how strong the coaching, that&rsquo;s natural talent taking over. Is it enough to get them into the playoffs? Don&rsquo;t bet against it. If the Wild play just. 500 hockey the rest of the way, they end the season with 88 points. The playoff cut-off point in the Western Conference last season was 94.The last time Minnesota had a playoff team was 1992, the year before the North Stars left town. Minnesota&rsquo;s reputation then was as a hotbed of college and high school puck, with the NHL playing the part of the bratty, stuck-up sister.If that was ever true it isn&rsquo;t any longer. Minneapolis-St. Paul is a big-time NHL town(s). The proof is in the stands&hellip; and in the big-time NHL team on the ice. &#9633;<h2>1990s EXPANSION: THE EARLY YEARS</h2>NHL expansion teams of the &lsquo;90s are listed in order of debut season, with winning percentage in each of first three years.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021262/7189588-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="1464" height="458"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03867/7189581-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="350" height="416"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marian Gaborik</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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ON THE COVER

Enjoying the Wild life

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011746/7189081-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"></div>Here&rsquo;s a hint: he&rsquo;s Swedish, plays for Vancouver and has a twin brother named Henrik. Confirm your suspicions by checking the Canucks&rsquo; depth chart, pg. 29. &#9632;

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Who Am I?

<h2>EDITOR&rsquo;S NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021396/7189112-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="296" height="336"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jason Kay Managing Editor</figcaption></div>Dave Andreychuk has spent the better part of his career as an immovable object in front of NHL goalies, but does that mean he should be considered an irresistible force once he becomes eligible for Hall of Fame induction?Andreychuk&rsquo;s case will present an interesting challenge for selectors, who this year granted entry to Bernie Federko, Rod Langway, Clark Gillies and Roger Neilson. (See pg. 16 for more.)What do you do with a player who has: never won a major award; never won a Stanley Cup; never been named to a post-season all-star team; and never been considered the dominant player at his position in any given season?Yet this same player will finish his career 11th all-time in goals-ahead of players such as Bobby Hull and Jari Kurri-and will likely end this season as the recordholder for power play markers.Our advice to the Hall committee is-if in doubt, don&rsquo;t leave him out. Here&rsquo;s the argument to include Andreychuk.The complaint: He&rsquo;s not flashy enough.The defense: So what. He doesn&rsquo;t have Sergei Fedorov&rsquo;s wheels or Jaromir Jagr&rsquo;s moves, but Andreychuk, 39, has been remarkably consistent throughout his 20year career. He has failed to reach the 20-goal mark just three times-once in his rookie year, another in an injury-shortened campaign.During his most productive seasons, he was perhaps the league&rsquo;s best scorer from tight quarters. And when he does call it a career, he&rsquo;ll be the highest goal-getting forward among the alltime top 30 either not in the Hall or a shoo-in for induction. (The other bubble boys are Dino Ciccarelli and Pat Verbeek). Let&rsquo;s not forget that despite this low-goal era we&rsquo;re trying to escape, scoring is still the name of the game.The complaint: No big awards, no Cups.The defense: Individual awards and all-star berths are wonderful, but they&rsquo;re still subjective measures of excellence, voted on by members of the media. There is margin for error. Andreychuk&rsquo;s goal totals, on the other hand, are purely objective. The lack of championships, meanwhile, shouldn&rsquo;t be a deterrent. Marcel Dionne, Mike Gartner and other Hall of Famers have already set the non-Cup precedent.The complaint: You&rsquo;d be adversely affecting the Hall&rsquo;s exclusivity.The defense: Get real. We&rsquo;re not talking about inducting Johan Garpenlov. Andreychuk will finish his career with more than 600 goals. This year&rsquo;s class (Federko, Gillies and Langway) combined for 739. Besides, the Hall is already filled with true-blue superstars. Why not reward a blue-collar hero for longevity and consistency? &#9632;

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Why Andreychuk deserves Hall of Fame recognition

<div class="byline">-Adam Proteau</div>In Mario Marois&rsquo; 15 NHL seasons, he played for five different teams. That two have since relocated from Canada to the U.S. is a source of regret for him.&ldquo;I do feel sad sometimes,&rdquo; said Marois, who played with the Rangers, Canucks, Nordiques, Jets and Blues from 1977 to 1992. &ldquo;Both Quebec City and Winnipeg were big hockey towns and it&rsquo;s a shame they couldn&rsquo;t find a way to keep them around.&rdquo;Marois, who is in his third year as an amateur scout for the Canucks, was known as a physical, playmaking defenseman during his time in the NHL. The 44-year-old native of Ancienne Lorette, Que., retired with 357 assists, 433 points and 1,746 penalty minutes in 955 games. His best offensive season came in 1987-88, when he had 44 assists and 51 points for New York.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011713/7189143-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="242" height="288"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario Marois</figcaption></div>In 1978-79, Marois&rsquo; first full season in the league, he went to the Stanley Cup final with the Rangers. Although New York fell to Montreal in five games, Marois remembers the series as one of the highlights of his career.&ldquo;It was so exciting to make it that far,&rdquo; Marois said, &ldquo;but at the same time, it was very painful to lose after getting so close to winning it all.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Relocation of Nordiques, Jets source of sadness for tough, skilled defenseman Marois

<div class="byline">-Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011680/7189205-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jamie McLennan Calgary Flames (All images: BBS)</figcaption></div><h2>McLennan&rsquo;s Flame rising</h2>When it comes to making an NHL comeback, Jamie McLennan wrote the book on it.The 31-year-old goaltender for the Calgary Flames, who stepped into the No. 1 role when starter Roman Turek went down with a broken finger Oct. 31, is back in the big-time after having spent last season with Houston in the American League.&ldquo;At this point in my career, I don&rsquo;t think in terms of becoming a No. 1 goalie,&rdquo; McLennan said.&ldquo;All I worry about is being able to do the job on a day-to-day basis. If that means playing once every couple of weeks, then I&rsquo;ll be ready. If it means taking over as the No. 1 for a period of time in the case of an injury to a teammate, then so be it.&rdquo;The New York Islanders&rsquo; third pick (48th overall) in 1991 entered this season with 176 big-league games to his credit.McLennan made his first comeback in 1997 with St. Louis, having spent the previous year in the minors recovering from a near-deadly bout of bacterial meningitis. In the spring of 1996, McLennan checked himself into the hospital where he spent a month, including five days in intensive care. He lost so much muscle mass that he had to teach himself how to walk again.&ldquo;I spent the next year trying to get myself back in shape,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t play in back-to-back games until Christmastime.&rdquo;Selected by Minnesota in the 2000 expansion draft, McLennan felt he played well for the Wild in its initial season, but was demoted last year. Calgary GM Craig Button got him for just a ninth round draft pick.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re thrilled to have him,&rdquo; Button said. &ldquo;We think he can help us.&rdquo;McLennan was 2-2-1 with a 2.55 goals-against average and. 918 save percentage in five starts.<h2>Can&rsquo;t trade, I&rsquo;m teaching</h2>If an opposing NHL GM wants to hook up with Vancouver GM-president Brian Burke for trade talks, it had better not be on a Tuesday afternoon.That time of the week Burke reserves for his teaching duties. The 47-year-old Providence, R.I., native serves as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia School of Law, teaching a sports law class.&ldquo;I believe each generation has an obligation to try to pass on what they have learned to the next generation,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;I remember when I first started to practice law how much of an impact experienced lawyers made on me.&rdquo;Burke graduated from Harvard Law School in 1981 and served as a Bostonbased player agent for six years. He also was senior vice-president of the NHL before taking the job as GM of the Canucks in 1998.Burke is not paid for his teaching time. He also taught at the school during an earlier Canuck stint from 1987 to 1992. &#9632;

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POWER PLAY

Information overload not a problem in DallasThe Dallas Stars are enjoying life under rookie coach Dave Tippett. They have more freedom on offense, a better goals-against average (2.29) than they posted last year under Ken Hitchcock and Rick Wilson (2.60) and, best of all, short meetings! &ldquo;The meetings are two minutes long,&rdquo; said right winger Bill Guerin. On game days there&rsquo;s a quick session on penalty killing, something similar on the power play and not much more. When the players come into the dressing room there are some key points scrawled on the chalkboard; other than that the largely veteran club is left to prepare as individuals &ldquo;without drowning in information,&rdquo; as Guerin puts it. &ldquo;Guys love it. They used to go through a lot of meetings here in the past, so it&rsquo;s a breath of fresh air.&rdquo; In fairness to Hitchcock, the meetings haven&rsquo;t hurt Philadelphia any.LESSON LEARNED? Was anyone paying attention to 5-foot-7,185-pound Tampa right winger Martin St-Louis? If so, why did 29 NHL GMs let 5-foot-8,192-pound St. Louis right winger Eric Boguniecki clear waivers at the start of the year? More than a few teams could use Boguniecki&rsquo;s eight goals since his Oct. 12 recall&hellip; If a player doesn&rsquo;t like a particular NHL coach, he can always try to do what ex-NHL defenseman Doug Halward attempted when he was traded from Boston to L.A. in 1978. Halward and the Kings agreed on a contract provision that said he could never play (again) for Bruins coach Don Cherry. The ever-vigilant crew at NHL head office found the clause and voided it&hellip; It will be a fine day two years from now when this trio of defensemen-Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey and Larry Murphy-get inducted together into the Hockey Hall of Fame.,. What&rsquo;s up with the bad food being delivered to the home dressing room at the Pepsi Center? Colorado was winless at home with three losses and three ties, but hadn&rsquo;t lost on the road in regulation (4-0-1-2)&hellip; Injured St. Louis stars Keith Tkachuk ($11 million) and Chris Pronger ($9.5 million) bank a combined $20.5 million this season. That&rsquo;s about $10,000 more than the entire Minnesota Wild payroll. The four highest-paid Blues-Tkachuk, Pronger, Doug Weight ($8.5 million) and Al MacInnis ($7.5 million) make more than the payrolls of 12 NHL clubs.,. More than five goals were scored in just one of 10 games played the night of Nov. 7. Not to mention the five shutouts. Don&rsquo;t look now, but the slipping officiating standards so dreaded by NHL VP Colin Campbell have entered the buildings.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021201/7189236-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="245" height="290"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eric Boguniecki</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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THN ONE-TIMERS

<div class="byline">-with Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021264/7189281-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011872/7189288-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="236" height="354"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Coffey&nbsp;In the First Person</figcaption></div>You can stand at a chalkboard and draw Xs and Os until you&rsquo;re blue in the face &#9632; and to me, all the plays you design won&rsquo;t have the desired impact as simply teaching a hockey player to use his natural instincts. I&rsquo;m not saying there isn&rsquo;t a right way and a wrong way to do things, but in my role as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; special teams, I encourage our players to use their heads&hellip; and their talent.When you watch hockey games these days, too much of the game is scripted and I think the play suffers because of that. I approach coaching the same way I deal with my kids; I try to give them confidence and tell them, &ldquo;Yes, you can do it.&rdquo; In other words, I want them to try things; to be original. You want to put them in a position to succeed.I believe in trying to build people up, not tear them down. I made a promise to myself that if I took this job, I would accentuate the positives. Throughout my career, there were so many times when I heard somebody say, &ldquo;This guy&rsquo;s no good,&rdquo; or &ldquo;That guy&rsquo;s no good.&rdquo; I could never understand how three weeks earlier the same guy was the best winger on the team or playing on one of the top three lines and yet, suddenly, he was no good. You need to find out what the problem is and make adjustments, but it&rsquo;s not a matter of a guy suddenly being no good. It&rsquo;s easy to kick a guy when he&rsquo;s down, but the proper thing to do is find out what the problem is and fix it.It&rsquo;s really kind of funny that I found myself in this newly created position, for a couple of reasons. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn&rsquo;t leave the game on bad terms or have any negative feelings about the game. The game of hockey has been good to me over the years and this was a perfect way for me to give something back.That said, I had always planned to take time off upon retiring so last year I stayed at home and spent some quality time with my wife and kids. We built a home in Toronto and we just kind of hung out.It was a great run&hellip; a great career and I really wanted to take a year off and look at the game from a fan&rsquo;s point of view. I had taken 20 years off from cheering for Toronto, my hometown, but in my heart, I was always a Leafs fan. I watched a lot of their games on TV and went to quite a few of their playoff games. It was a lot of fun.In odd-man situations. Paul Coffey says players should do what they do best. For Brad Isbister, it means planting himself by the crease.Wayne Gretzky called me in the summer to see if I&rsquo;d be interested in working with the Coyotes and then Phoenix GM Mike Barnett called. I didn&rsquo;t know if I was interested, but after talking to my wife, she convinced me it would be a good thing for me. I took a while to think things over and finally agreed to join the team a few days before Wayne&rsquo;s jersey retirement in L. A. Oct. 9. My job is to mainly work with the power play, although Rick Bowness, who works with the defense, has invited me to help out in that department, too.Obviously, with the crackdown on obstruction and the determination by the league to allow the skill players to have more room to show off their talents, there is more emphasis on power play production this season. What I try to get through to the players is to be aware at all times. When you get a sense the puck is going to come at you, take a quick look around and know ahead of time what you are going to do with it when you get it. With no disrespect to the forwards, when it comes to the power play, the key is the back end. Your quarterbacks are most important because teams kill penalties so aggressively these days. But if you move the puck quickly, you&rsquo;d be amazed at how fast you can get the other team&rsquo;s box to spread out. If you don&rsquo;t have guys up top who have good puck sense and who can move the puck through traffic, you&rsquo;re in trouble. The Coyotes have a couple of young guys, Paul Mara and Ossi Vaananen, who are very talented and have the potential to be excellent on the power play. But it takes time.What I want most is for the players to use their ability, their instincts and their hockey sense. You&rsquo;d be surprised how, when players do that, how much better they are.I&rsquo;m not sure where I&rsquo;ll go with this job. We&rsquo;re taking it on a year-by-year basis. My priority now is my family so I&rsquo;ll spend most of the time at home reviewing game tapes and I&rsquo;ll meet with the team every few weeks.In the meantime, I hope the players I work with are able to take their game to the next level by using their talent and imagination. &#9633;<h2>POWERED UP</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03754/7189274-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="103" height="105"></div>Here are the top power play teams for each season since 1997-98, plus Pittsburgh, this year&rsquo;s leader through Nov. 7. Teams listed with power play per-cent efficiency (PP%).</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04460/7189267-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="466" height="320"></div> &#9632;

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Try natural way on power play

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-07" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07146/7189340-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg"></div>Best of the Hockey World<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05363/7189333-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="375" height="637"><figcaption class="caption-body">John LeClair</figcaption></div>MILESTONE MEN Philadelphia&rsquo;s John LeClair scores his 300th career NHL goal while Toronto&rsquo;s Darcy Tucker nets his 100th.A SOLDIER TO THE END Kevin Dineen of the Columbus Blue Jackets retires after 1,188 games in which he never gave less than 100 per cent.GOOD START Plymouth goalie Jeff Weber stops two penalty shots-1:17 apart-in his debut with the Whalers against his old OHL team, Sault Ste. Marie.Worst of the Hockey WorldPUNCHY PROMOTION The Houston Aeros wanted to hold Guaranteed Fight Night, but the AHL wisely stepped in and put a stop to it.DON&rsquo;T LOOK NOW, BUT&hellip; Just when you thought the NHL had turned the corner toward more goals, there are five shutouts in 10 games on Nov. 7.LIFE OF BRYAN Toronto&rsquo;s Bryan McCabe, who tied for second in goals by defensemen last year (17), looks lost with just one score and two points in 12 games.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-0888/7189326-1-eng-US/f0006-082.jpg" title="f0006-08" width="1119" height="492"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06256/7189319-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="377" height="632"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bryan McCabe</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">BY LISA SCOTT</div>The National Women&rsquo;s Hockey League&rsquo;s fourth season is underway and promises to be a breakthrough year.The summer signings of American Olympians Cammi Granato and Shelley Looney by the Vancouver Griffins and of American college star Brooke Whitney by the Brampton Thunder bring a wealth bigname talent to the NWHL.,The league is still in its infancy and is struggling to develop stability. It has the unique challenge of having to work around the comings and goings of its players; talent is hard to maintain because of the Olympic schedule and college system.The NWHL can be broken up into two groups: the young players (15- to 18-year-olds) who are hoping to earn a college scholarship; and older players (22 and over) who are returning to the NWHL to continue their careers after college. Having to work around the needs of these two groups makes it hard to build a fan base.Also, the NWHL loses key players to Olympic programs-and, every four years, the Olympics-which skews the season and playoffs. Last year&rsquo;s playoffs became a season unto itself when Olympians, who had not played in the NWHL all year, were allowed to rejoin their teams.The Brampton Thunder, with a sorry regular season record of 8-14-8, benefited from the talents of three Olympians and made it to the championship game.Then there&rsquo;s the college factor. Teams often end up with huge gaps in their lineups because of players going off to school.,Nevertheless, the NWHL has garnered increasing attention and will benefit from television coverage this year. With the addition of three teams, the NWHL has ten teams in three, divisions-the Pacific, West and East-to compete for female hockey&rsquo;s bragging rights.The season began Sept. 21 and concludes Feb. 27. The playoff tournament will be played in Brampton. The Beatrice Aeros have won the Championship Cup all three seasons.Here&rsquo;s a look at the teams, in alphabetical order by division:<h2>PACIAC DIVISION</h2>Calgary Oval X-TremeCoach: Tomas Pacina.Notable players: Dana Antal, Kelly Bechard, Cassie Campbell, Danielle Goyette, Colleen Sostorics, Amanda Tapp.Edmonton ChimosCoach: Shirley Cameron.Notable players: Hong Guo, Julianne Jubinville, Hayley Wickenheiser (who is exploring the possibility of joining a men&rsquo;s pro team in Europe).Vancouver GriffinsCoach: Nancy Wilson.Notable players: Nancy Drolet, Cammi Granato, Shelley Looney, Jennifer Price.<h2>WEST DIVISION</h2>Brampton ThunderCoach: Steve Bennett.Notable players: Lori Dupuis, Jayna Hefford, Karen Nystrom, Vicky Sunohara, Brooke Whitney.Durham Telus LightningCoach: Peter Perram.Notable players: Amanda Cronin, Jenn Piitz.Mississauga Ice BearsCoach: Keith Murray.Notable players: Therese Brisson, Kim Kodatsky, Kathy McCormack, Nathalie Rivard.North York Beatrice AerosCoach: Ken Dufton.Notable players: Kendra Fisher, Geraldine Heaney, Becky Kellar, Cheryl Pounder, Sami-Jo Small.<h2>EAST DIVISION</h2>Montreal WingstarCoach: Natalie Leblond.Notable players: Isabelle Chartrand, Charline Labonte, Caroline Ouellette.Ottawa RaidersCoach: Joel Yates.Notable players: Isabelle Aube, Fiona Bell (nee Smith), Chelsea Grills, Marie-France Yates (nee Morin).Quebec AvalancheCoach: Sebastien Gariepy.Notable players: Lisa-Marie Breton, Isabelle Leclaire. &#9633;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011765/7189371-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="924" height="705"><figcaption class="caption-body">Geraldine Heaney North York Beatrice Aeros</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Women’s circuit expands by three

Are THN&rsquo;s reporters and columnists paid by the hour when they&rsquo;re watching games? Judging by your call for video review and by Jay Greenberg&rsquo;s column &ldquo;Slow down on hurry-up,&rdquo; that&rsquo;s the sense I got. (THN, Nov. 1)I&rsquo;m afraid if THN gets its way and the NHL opts for increased video review and returns to slower faceoffs, we&rsquo;ll be seeing three-hour games. That&rsquo;s great for the concessions, but not for the rest of us.William Savage, Minneapolis<h2>Young guns ride again</h2>Finally, a wave of young guns are emerging in the NHL.Marian Gaborik, Aleksey Morozov, Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton and Vincent Lecavalier are starting to make their marks.Blessed with loads of offensive talent, they are all potential Art Ross Trophy winners-that is, after Mario Lemieux steps down.James Perrier, Thunder Bay, Ont.<h2>Stevens should stay</h2>I couldn&rsquo;t believe my eyes when I read the letter from a disgruntled Carolina Hurricanes fan declaring it is time for New Jersey&rsquo;s Scott Stevens to retire.Obviously the writer doesn&rsquo;t have the pleasure of watching Stevens over the course of a season, or he would never have made such a ludicrous statement.Scott Stevens is the epitome of what a defenseman and captain should be. It will be a very sad day in New Jersey when Stevens does retire; hopefully it won&rsquo;t happen until he leads the Devils to another Stanley Cup!Cindy Grimm, North Brunswick, N.J.<h2>Milbury, Isles headed for trouble</h2>The New York Islanders look like a team headed into oblivion by December. Off-season acquisitions Jason Wiemer and Aaron Asham are proving to be two stiffs.Yes, it&rsquo;s early, but GM Mike Milbury&rsquo;s policy of addition by subtraction might not get the Islanders back in the playoffs this season.John Fenter, Santee, Calif. &#9632;

Three hours too long for games

As a Maple Leafs fan, I sure don&rsquo;t like what is happening this season. As coach, Pat Quinn is so close to the players he can&rsquo;t see the big picture with the team. I think he should give up either the coaching job or the GM position.Art Paquette, London, Ont. I watched referee Mike Hasen-fratz work in the Western League and always thought he did a poor job, night after night. Yes, I knew he was destined to one day be employed by the NHL.George Schultze, Hayden, IdahoI think it&rsquo;s great to see the Leafs struggle this season. It may help the Canadian media realize there is more than one team in Canada.Dirk Clifton, Longueil, Que.Convicted pedophile Graham James can coach in Europe, but Hayley Wickenheiser is prohibited from playing because she&rsquo;s a woman. Something is very wrong here.J.S. Grundberg, Edmonton Over the last few seasons, the Rangers management and the team&rsquo;s personnel has changed, but the one change that hasn&rsquo;t been made is in net. Hey, GM Glen Sather: it is time to gently let go of Mike Richter. He isn&rsquo;t nearly the player he once was.Brian Ahern, Pembroke, Mass.<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;

Quinn needs to lose dual role with Leafs

The New York Rangers&rsquo; problems this season begin and end with Eric Lindros.Even after Bryan Trottier tried sending Lindros a message by benching him against St. Louis, he comes out and takes a dumb penalty to cost the Rangers the game.Lindros should continue riding the pine until he gets Trottier&rsquo;s point: lazy, selfish play won&rsquo;t be rewarded.Thomas J. Scott, Weston, Ont.<h2>Sather&rsquo;s stock falling fast</h2>Bobby Holik and Darius Kasparaitis-the Rangers&rsquo; prized offseason acquisitions-were a combined minus-13 with a total of four points through the first 13 games of 2002-03.Meanwhile, this pair will &ldquo;earn&rdquo; roughly $14 million this year. No wonder Glen Sather&rsquo;s stock as GM has fallen faster than Enron, Tyco and WorldCom combined.If people are going to have money, they should at least be taught how to spend it properly.Robb Edwards, Philadelphia<h2>Ballot choices unfair</h2>Why are some players who have yet to play in 2002-03 on the allstar ballot?Theoren Fleury, Steve Yzerman, Eric Daze, Chris Pronger and Brent Johnson are all on the ballot. The NHL should promote players who deserve to be on the all-star team for their performance this season, not simply the most popular names.John Guptill, St. Louis<h2>Salary cap a necessity</h2>As much as I would like to see the Nordiques-or another NHL team-return to Quebec, we have to realize that small-market teams will be eaten alive in today&rsquo;s high-spending NHL.The reason the Green Bay Packers or any other small-market NFL team can compete every year is because of that league&rsquo;s salary cap. A salary cap needs to be implemented in the NHL in order to stop teams from irresponsible spending and to make sure small-market teams can be competitive every season.Mark Yamashita, Torrance, Calif.<h2>Got something to say?</h2>MAIL: U.S.A.: Letters, THN, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y, 14240-9947.Canada: Letters, THN, 25 Sheppard Ave. W, Suite 100, Toronto, Ont., M2N 6S7E-MAIL: <a href="mailto:proteaua@transcontinental.ca">proteaua@transcontinental.ca</a> or visit <a href="https://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a>. Include name, hometown, province/state and phone number. Submissions will be edited. &#9632;

Selfish Lindros should sit

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011738/7189474-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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Elsoton

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011694/7189505-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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The WORTH WEIGHT

<div class="byline">BY MARK BRENDER Contributing Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011574/7189550-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"></div>His teammates know it by watching him dominate games. The rest of the league knows it by checking the stats and seeing those seven consecutive multipoint games, an eight-game point streak, an improbable nine-game St. Louis winning streak powered by the most high-profile Blue left standing in an injury-plagued lineup.Now everyone knows it: Doug Weight is back.The return to form of one of the NHL&rsquo;s elite and most dynamic playmakers won&rsquo;t surprise anyone who saw Weight play in Edmonton, where he led the Oilers in scoring in seven of his eight seasons there, the last two while serving as captain, before his trade to St. Louis in the summer of 2001.What may surprise is that the the resurrection of Weight&rsquo;s formerly battle-scarred body is only part of this comeback story. At least as significant a factor is the soothing of his soul.Weight&rsquo;s right knee is great and feels no ill effects from the torn ligament that made him a bit player in St. Louis&rsquo;s feeble playoff loss to Detroit last spring. His abdominal muscles, cut open in surgery last May, the site of internal bleeding last season, are fully recovered. In terms of fitness and physical strength, he has never been in better shape.But where would he be without that sense of internal peace that now carries him floating onto the ice, where he darts and dashes like a visionary artist? Probably back where he was last season, when he didn&rsquo;t look or feel anything like the player who found stardom north of the border.There&rsquo;s a simple reason for that: Weight didn&rsquo;t feel like he did in Edmonton because he wasn&rsquo;t in Edmonton. He wasn&rsquo;t home.They might say it shouldn&rsquo;t matter with the kind of money he&rsquo;s making, $40 million over five years, but it does.When Weight landed with the Oilers back in 1993, a 22-year-old traded from the Rangers for Esa Tikkanen, it took him four or five years to get his bearings. Based on his torrid start this year-five goals and 18 points in 12 games, a plus or even player in every one of them-it&rsquo;s safe to say it only took him one year in St. Louis. In a less demanding setting, this would be called progress.Familiarity matters more than anyone knew a year ago at this time, Weight included. When it comes to feeling comfortable, even cash has limited currency. Last summer it bought him a house down the &lsquo;street from buddy Keith Tkachuk. This past summer it paid for a personal trainer that he will no more feel in his pocketbook than he would if he bought a bag of milk. It could never buy him peace of mind.&ldquo;He thinks way too much,&rdquo; said Tkachuk, his closest friend on the Blues. &ldquo;Everyone puts high expectations on themselves, everyone wants to perform up to their abilities, but he takes it to a new level.&rdquo;Said Dallas&rsquo;s Bill Guerin, a former teammate in Edmonton. &ldquo;Doug&rsquo;s the kind of guy, he puts so much on his shoulders. I always told him, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re an unbelievable player, you&rsquo;re a great guy, don&rsquo;t take a backseat to anybody.&rsquo; &ldquo;Last season, that was advice Weight had a hard time living up to as he tried to prove himself all over again. He doesn&rsquo;t believe the 15-goal, 49-point year (in 61 games) while playing through injuries was nearly as bad as people make it out to be, even if he was as disappointed as everyone else. It&rsquo;s just that in Edmonton, those acclimatization problems were ancient history.&ldquo;I could have a bad game and they knew how good I was, so I didn&rsquo;t have to prove it every game and lose my confidence,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I never thought I&rsquo;d have to go through it again, but I did.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t put the numbers up I wanted to. I didn&rsquo;t turn my teammates&rsquo; heads the way I wanted to. I didn&rsquo;t contribute to wins the way I wanted to&hellip;Feeling sorry for yourself and worrying about things, it affects the whole psyche of a team. I had to get confident in myself along with getting in shape.&rdquo;So Doug Weight spent his summer as a 31-year-old eating like he&rsquo;d never eaten before, working out like he&rsquo;d never worked out before, trying to rebound from injury and inconsistency like he never had to rebound before.He shunned carbohydrates like the plague, gobbled up lean meat, venison, chicken, turkey, tuna and eggs six times a day It was like all he did was eat and when he wasn&rsquo;t eating he was sweating. He and his family stayed all summer at their off-season home in &lsquo;Phoenix where he could work out with trainer Charles Poliquin.But there would be no more long bike rides or runs, no way; now it was all high-intensity, low-duration anaerobic weight work, heavy squats, sprints, anything to teach those fasttwitch muscles what it meant to be explosive again.First, Poliquin had to teach Weight that he didn&rsquo;t know what was good for his own body nearly as well as he thought. &ldquo;Doug Weight was so afraid, so paranoid of gaining weight,&rdquo; Poliquin said, &ldquo;that he wouldn&rsquo;t eat enough to recover from training.&rdquo;Poliquin won him over in a big way a month before training camp. Weight was worried that he hadn&rsquo;t done much bench-press work, yet the press was one of the major training camp tests. He wanted to do well, to impress the coaches and he knew time was running out.Poliquin asked him his personal best. Weight told him.&ldquo;And he put 10 more pounds on it and I did it about six times,&rdquo; Weight said. &ldquo;And he goes, &lsquo;How&rsquo;s that?&rsquo; And I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;OK.&rsquo; So I picked up my bag and made my shake and went home.&rdquo;At the end of last season, after long periods of little exercise because of his abdominal injury, he was 190 pounds with 14.5 percent body fat. Heading into training camp he was 202 pounds with 6.5 percent body fat. &ldquo;I went four months without bread, pasta, rice, no pop, no beer, nothing. I mean, it was a tough summer,&rdquo; he said.Four months, no beer?&ldquo;Absolutely.&rdquo; Not one beer? &ldquo;Ah, I mean, not many.&rdquo;Whatever beer he had, blame it on Guerin. Knowing they would meet at former teammate Mike Grier&rsquo;s July wedding, Guerin put in an advance call instructing Weight that a few drinks were part of the program, there was no getting out of it. And then there were the other times when Guerin tested his friend&rsquo;s resolve.&ldquo;Ah, Doug,&rdquo; he&rsquo;d tease over the phone, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m having a beer with a big piece of bread.&rdquo;&ldquo;Billy knows what I went through,&rdquo; Weight said. &ldquo;I call him a lot and talk to him a lot. He knows I tend to obsess a bit.&rdquo;&#9633; &#9633; &#9633;All through training camp Weight would come home and tell his wife Allison how great he was feeling. Usually every fourth game or so there was a night when things just didn&rsquo;t feel right, but that wasn&rsquo;t happening.He had his first game of the year like that Nov. 2 against the Islanders. He felt weak; his legs had no jump. Looking back on the game later, he realized he had a couple of assists, was never behind the play and was in control defensively in a 6-1 win. It was another huge confidence boost in a season of many As Tkachuk, out until at least early December with a broken foot, put it: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s carrying us.&rdquo;In the dressing room, after a season of trying to fit in and prove himself at the same time, Weight is relaxed and himself again.He would love to be playing on a line with Tkachuk, but his line with rookie Eric Boguniecki and Cory Stillman has clicked nicely Weight has complained about not being given more of a chance with Tkachuk-this year they had a one-game run on opening night before being broken up-but only to his wife. He realizes coach Joel Quenneville wants three lines that can score.He has also grown used to the Blues&rsquo; all-out pressure game in the defensive zone, which required a shift in mindset from the Oilers&rsquo; man-on-man approach. Quenneville, in turn, has become more tuned in to Weight&rsquo;s versatility.&ldquo;This year we feel we have to use Doug in different situations,&rdquo; the coach said. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to use him more because he can help us. Maybe we didn&rsquo;t use him as much as we should have.&rdquo;It stands to reason that more ice time will make Doug Weight feel even more at home. Asked if his play this season has given the Blues the same respect and knowledge of his game that Edmonton had, Weight said: &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m getting close.&rdquo; &#9633;<h2>AMERICAN BLUES ON THE RISE</h2>Doug Weight and Keith Tkachuk are moving up the all-time U.S.-born points list (as of Nov. 7). Asterisk denotes active players.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021102/7189543-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="489" height="680"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Housley</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03814/7189536-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="595" height="722"></div> &#9632;

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STAR SHINING AGAIN

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011546/7189633-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="299" height="367"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jay Greenberg Columnist (JIM Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption></div>When a door closes with Eric Lindros inside it for all but nine minutes of a 3-2 home loss, another one opens.Mark Messier says this is an opportunity for Eric to show it&rsquo;s not all about Eric, never mind that the Rangers, hardly a team as deep as the ongoing search for meaning in their new coach&rsquo;s vague words and strange combinations, will go only as far as Lindros can take them.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying it&rsquo;s not hard when things are going tough for a player of his stature,&rdquo; Messier said, &ldquo;but I need to make sure he understands his aura and glow have to be strong, his personality up.&rdquo;In difficult times, Lindros must shine, never mind he wants to tell a rookie coach to stick it where the sun doesn&rsquo;t. The day after benching the Ranger star, Bryan Trottier had a heart-to-heart pre-practice talk with Lindros then lined up with him for a postworkout game of two-pass. It must have seemed as transparent to the player as the rookie coach has seemed obtuse.What really worked, two nights later, was Trottier reuniting Lindros, one of the league&rsquo;s best centers, with Pavel Bure, its purest goal-scorer, for an entire game for the first time in five contests. All combinations-Rem Murray with Lindros and Bure, Petr Nedved with Radek Dvorak and Ronald Petrovicky, Messier centering Mikael Samuelsson and Matthew Barnaby-finally made sense as five different goalscorers sparked a 5-2 win over Edmonton, one Lindros assist notwithstanding.Due either to Messier&rsquo;s influence or lessons learned from sour experience in Philadelphia, Lindros rekindled some passion even to say the right things. &ldquo;The team is the focal point of everything,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is just a silly sidebar that&rsquo;ll get cleared up in no time.&rdquo; We&rsquo;ll see about that, after the rookie coach risked losing his most indispensable player in warp time. What had been the purpose of playing a slumping scorer with sluggos? How would that awaken Lindros, who carried the Rangers to the conference lead halfway through last season only after having his ice time cranked up?The Flyers, fault falling on both sides, failed to motivate Lindros by estranging him. Glen Sather, trying to revive a high-profile franchise, didn&rsquo;t bring in one of the NHL&rsquo;s best and more sensitive players to be taught lessons in humility.&ldquo;My alarm clock went off in midSeptember,&rdquo; smiled Lindros, asked if Trottier had provided a wake-up call. &ldquo;And my snooze alarm wasn&rsquo;t hit.&rdquo;You have to read between the lines, 35 combinations of which Trottier has tried, to catch the drift. Lindros is fully cognizant that he has been awful. He is also certain he needs to play his way out rather than be humiliated because a couple penalties, arguable ones at that, helped cause back-to-back defeats.&ldquo;It was just a little breather,&rdquo; said Trottier, which is a bunch of wind. If the goal was to relieve pressure on a player overburdening himself, subtle moves would have worked better than abject humiliation.The logic of benching your No. 1 center while down a goal in the third period is more flawed than even this team, which is short on the size Lindros provides and the youth Jamie Lundmark was supplying until being sent down, basically because the coach couldn&rsquo;t find time on one of the top three lines for the rare young Ranger who was increasingly warranting it.Ted Donato and Dixon Ward are up. The fans, the frustration of five consecutive playoff misses building, are not. With good health and a little luck, the Rangers&rsquo; big tickets can punch this top-heavy team into the playoffs, but that won&rsquo;t happen for another year that will seem like five if the coach can&rsquo;t find 22-23 minutes a game for his best forwards.At the time Bobby Holik limped off, a workhorse just signed for $9 million a year was getting less ice time than 41-year-old Mark Messier. Never mind how fresh Messier looks, it has to change and probably will by the process of natural selection over a long season. But if Trottier, like Ron Low ahead of him, fears alienatation of a legend, why would he risk it with guys who carry the team on their back and don&rsquo;t need the coach there, too?The definition of coaching is to put players in the best possible position to succeed. The odd moves that seem contrary to that principle have to be temporary to make their point or Trottier is committing professional suicide. Stay tuned to see who really is learning a lesson here, the struggling rookie cOach or the struggling veteran star. &#9633;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021085/7189626-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="642" height="1037"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brayan Trottier</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0015-01

Rookie coach playing dangerous risk-reward game

<div class="byline">BY ALAN ADAMS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021130/7189713-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Dave Sandford/HHOF)</figcaption></div>The Hockey Hall of Fame&rsquo;s class of &lsquo;02 isn&rsquo;t rife with NHL superstars, but their selection proves Stanley Cup championships and individual awards aren&rsquo;t everything when it comes to gaining entry into the shrine.The Hall welcomed St. Louis Blues great Bernie Federko, rugged New York Islanders left winger Clark Gillies and stalwart defenseman Rod Langway of the Washington Capitals in the players&rsquo; category, along with innovative coach Roger Neilson into the builders&rsquo; categoryMixed in with the celebrations that surround the festivities was debate about standards for inclusion. Critics charged that by inducting Federko, Gillies and, to a lesser degree, Langway and Neilson, the Hall&rsquo;s selection committee lowered the bar and welcomed &ldquo;specialists.&rdquo;Federko and Neilson don&rsquo;t have their names on the Cup and they have not won individual awards. Gillies may have four Cups on his resume, but he&rsquo;s better known as the third person on the line of Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, who are both in the Hall.Langway may have won a Cup with Montreal, but he made a name for himself as a defensive defenseman in Washington, where he won the Norris Trophy twice.Neilson has coached eight teams and won three division titles. He&rsquo;s also one of the most likeable guys in the NHL and is best remembered for introducing video teaching to the league.A perusal of the inductees&rsquo; resumes lends credence to the arguments the Hall chose to honor individuals who were indispensable to their teams, but not necessarily superstars. &ldquo;Those are the guys you had to talk about (to your team) before you played them,&rdquo; Neilson said.&ldquo;They are not what the public perceives as superstars because of points or whatever. But I know as a coach, those are the guys you love to have on your team.&ldquo;I think the Hall of Fame did well this year in recognizing that, taking guys who were valuable guys to their team and playing hard every night. I don&rsquo;t think it has to be the fancy big-name guys who get into the Hall of Fame.&rdquo;Gillies was first-time eligible in 1991, Federko in 1993 and Langway in 2001. Combined, they were turned down six times prior to this year.&ldquo;The thing some people have to get by is not all great players win championships,&rdquo; said Blues GM Larry Pleau. &ldquo;Not every great player can win.&rdquo; Consider Federko. He starred for St. Louis for 13 seasons, beginning in 197677, and led the team in scoring nine times. Federko never gave up on becoming the first true Blue to enter the Hall. He is the first member of the organization to be a member of the Blues on Day 1 of his NHL career and go into the Hall.The Hall&rsquo;s selection committee can elect a maximum of four players a year and Federko was nominated for a fourth time by former Blues president, coach-GM Emile Francis. It&rsquo;s also worth that noting St. Louis is the last of the 10 NHL franchises with the longest singlecity history to get a signature player into the Hall.&ldquo;I have always been a patient man and I really believed some day it would happen,&rdquo; Federko said. &ldquo;This has been well worth the wait. To have the surprise I think made it maybe the greatest thing this could be. If you expect it, maybe it&rsquo;s not as much fun. I have never asked Wayne or Mario or any of those guys who didn&rsquo;t have to wait how they felt.But I can&rsquo;t feel any better than I do now. It was well worth it.&rdquo; &#9633;The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted retired NHL stars, clockwise from left, Bernie Federko, Clark Gillies and Rod Langway in the players&rsquo; category and, sitting, coach Roger Neilson in the builders&rsquo; category Nov. 4 in Toronto.<h2>rodLANGWAY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03844/7189706-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="267" height="218"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Claus Andersen/BBS)</figcaption></div>BORN May 3,1957 AGE 45 Maag, FormosaCLAIM TO FAME Two-time NorrisTrophy winner with Washington regarded as the best defensive defenseman of his era. He won a Stanley Cup in his rookie season with Montreal.CURRENT OCCUPATION Works in his family&rsquo;s heattreating business in Richmond, Va; seeking coaching job.<h2>bernieFEDERKO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04626/7189699-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="263" height="217"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Claus Andersen/BBS)</figcaption></div>BORN May 12,1956 AGE 46 Foam Lake, Sask.CLAIM TO FAME Crafty playmaker was the first player in NHL history to get at least 50 assists in 10 straight seasons. He ranks 41st all-time in points and led St. Louis in scoring nine times.CURRENT OCCUPATION Federko stills lives in St. Louis and is a Blues hockey commentator on Fox television.<h2>clarkGlLLIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05454/7189692-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="261" height="215"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Claus Andersen/BBS)</figcaption></div>BORN April 7,1954 AGE 48 Moose Jaw, Sask.CLAIM TO FAME The grinder on the New York Islanders&rsquo; famed &lsquo;Trio Grande&rsquo; line with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier. Gillies provided grit and scoring during the Islanders&rsquo; run of four straight Stanley Cups. CURRENT OCCUPATION Gillies is a financial advisor with Raymond James Financial on Long Island.<h2>rogerNEILSON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06382/7189685-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="264" height="215"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Claus Andersen/BBS)</figcaption></div>BORN June 16,1934 AGE 68 Toronto, Ont.CLAIM TO FAME A cancer survivor, Neilson is a coaching pioneer who revolutionized the use of video as a teaching tool. He was a head coach for eight teams, led Vancouver to the Cup final in 1982 and was runner-up as coach of the year in 1992.CURRENT OCCUPATION Assistant coach with Ottawa.<h2>gillesTREMBLAY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07352/7189678-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="265" height="214"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Dave Sandf.ord/HHOF)</figcaption></div>HONOR Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding work as an NHL broadcaster.CAREER Now retired, he played for the Canadians from 1960 to 1969 and won three Cups. In 1971, he became a color analyst for La Soiree Du Hockey and provided analysis for another eight Hab Cups during 28 years in the booth.CAREER MEMORY The 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.<h2>kevinDUPONT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08314/7189671-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="266" height="215"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Dave Sandf.ord/HHOF)</figcaption></div>HONOR Elmer Ferguson Award for distinguished hockey journalism. CAREER Hired by the Boston Herald-American in 1978, he moved to the New York Times in 1983 and has been with the Boston Globe since 1985. CAREER MEMORY Oilers clinch their first Cup in 1984. New York&rsquo;s Denis Potvin was on his knees in the agony of defeat. It signaled the start of a dynasty and end of another.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011465/7189664-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="227" height="227"></div>The Hockey Hall of L Fame inducted retired NHL stars, clockwise j from left, Bernie Federko, Clark Gillies and Rod Langway in the players&rsquo; category and, sitting, coach Roger Neilson in the builders&rsquo; category Nov. 4 in Toronto. &#9632;

f0016-02

Hall adds ‘specialists’

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN COSTELLO Sr. Editor</div>Clark Gillies became the fifth player from the New York Islanders 1980s dynasty to gain a plot in the Hall of Fame.The Edmonton Oilers dynasty that followed the Islanders&rsquo; should have a third member join Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri in the Hall next year.Goalie Grant Fuhr is a virtual shoo-in to receive blessing from the selection committee in 2003.He&rsquo;ll be joined by Oiler greats Paul Coffey in 2004 and Mark Messier three years after he retires.But the question remains, how many Oilers from those great Edmonton teams (five Cups in seven seasons) will wind up in the Hall. Glenn Anderson,Kevin Lowe and Andy Moog were eligible for the first time in 2000 or 2001, but weren&rsquo;t approved. Esa Tikkanen, like Fuhr, is eligible for the first time in 2003.Gillies getting the red carpet this year not only bumped the Islander field to five players (Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin and Billy Smith), it also sent a message to rebuffed candidates to never lose hope.Gillies has been eligible since 1991, Bernie Federko since 1993.Fuhr and Guy Carbonneau lead the way for 2003 first-timers:Grant Fuhr: He rarely led the NHL in statistical categories (in fact, his save percentage was below. 900 in 17 of his 19 seasons), but Fuhr had a knack of making the key save at the critical time during the Edmonton dynasty years. Fuhr won five Cups with the Oilers, was an NHL all-star twice and won the Vezina in 1988. He&rsquo;s sixth in alltime wins with 403.Guy Carbonneau: The defensive center for 18 NHL seasons wasn&rsquo;t flashy offensively, but he and Bob Gainey are the only NHL players to win the Selke Trophy or finish runner-up five times. Carbonneau won three Stanley Cups and finished a plus in 14 seasons.Longshots: A group of 2000 retirees includes Tikkanen, Wendel Clark, Ed Olczyk and Ray Sheppard. They are first-time eligible and may get Hall consideration, but likely won&rsquo;t be approved.There&rsquo;s a long list of previously passed over candidates worthy of consideration once again.The following list includes when they were first-year eligible:Butch Goring (1988); Rick Middleton (1991); John Tonelli (1995); Doug Wilson, Randy Carlyle, Bobby Smith (1996); Dave Taylor (1997); Mark Howe, Steve Larmer (1998); Cam Neely (1999); Anderson, Neal Broten (2000); Sergei Makarov, Pat LaFontaine, Lowe, Moog (2001); Dino Ciccarelli, Dale Hunter, Bernie Nicholls, Ron Hextall (2002). &#9633;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011316/7189744-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="824" height="776"><figcaption class="caption-body">Grant Fuhr</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-01

HALL OF FAME

Fuhr and Carbonneau in Hall’s on-deck circle

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021003/7189782-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="379" height="385"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Dupont Columnist</figcaption></div>More than 25 years into covering the NHL, some thoughts, recollections and observations from a mind less stable than the boards at the old Buffalo Aud:&#9633; Twenty years ago, a cerebral hemorrhage ended Normand Leveille&rsquo;s career. Every October since then, I think of the young kid with the big smile and the killer shot and wonder what might have been.&#9633; He wasn&rsquo;t much to watch around the net, but what a joy it was to see Russ Courtnall eat up open ice.&#9633; Two guys who deserve first-class bookings to the Hall of Fame: Butch Goring and Terry O&rsquo;Reilly. If we need to discuss this, let&rsquo;s book the debate at your optometrist&rsquo;s office. Just wave the white cane so I know who you are.&#9633; Ranger fans need to relax a little. Mike Milbury, Peter McNab and O&rsquo;Reilly tried to tell them that years ago.&#9633; Hyperbaric chambers. They were going to revolutionize the way hockey injuries were treated. Just like Wayne Huizenga and the Walt Disney Co. were going to change the dynamics of the hockey business.&#9633; Ex-Kings owner Bruce McNall, soon after getting out of the slammer, told the Los Angeles Times he isn&rsquo;t much of a businessman. Thirty teams across two countries didn&rsquo;t need to dust for fingerprints in their bookkeeping department to figure that out.&#9633; Alexei Kovalev has had a pretty good career. That said, it&rsquo;s about half of what I thought he would do after watching him perform in the 1992 Olympics. Tough read, those big sheets of ice.&#9633; The NHL does quite nicely without Quebec City as part of its Original 30. No doubt the NFL would be fine-maybe even better-without Green Bay. It just wouldn&rsquo;t be the same.&#9633; It doesn&rsquo;t get any better than DirecTV and hockey, hockey and more hockey. OK, it&rsquo;s only better if the sound is off. Just don&rsquo;t be messing with my audio when it&rsquo;s John Davidson&rsquo;s turn on Hockey Night In Canada&rsquo;s Hot Stove Lounge.&#9633; Will the International Astrological Society recognize Al &lsquo;The Planet&rsquo; lafrate before Jon Casey and the Amazing Technicolor Five-Hole finally wins a Tony Award?&#9633; The next GM with a spoiled brat on his hands should play a tape for the little punk that has Milt Schmidt talking about the Kraut Line heading off en masse to World War II.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03720/7189775-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="710" height="565"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Messier vs. Bryan Trottier was an all-time battle of titanic will and skill.</figcaption></div>&#9633; Jesus Saves and Espo Scores on the Rebound. Ever seen a better bumper sticker than that one?&#9633; Watching the steely wills of Bryan Trottier and Mark Messier go nose to nose in the 1983 and 1984 Cup finals might have been the best inside hockey I ever watched.&#9633; Every time I hear Hannibal Lecter&rsquo;s voice in Silence of the Lambs, I think of Rocket Richard&rsquo;s eyes. Sometimes you can&rsquo;t explain creepy, you just know it when the goosebumps cover your forearms.&#9633; You haven&rsquo;t been to hockey heaven if you&rsquo;ve never seen Saku Koivu and Ted Donato slug it out in a corner of the world called Turku. Winner? Come on. Everyone&rsquo;s a winner in Lilliput.&#9633; I can&rsquo;t stand reality TV. But I&rsquo;d pay big money to experience the real feel of being Bobby Hull in his prime, flying down the wing and ripping off that shot.&#9633; Ray Bourque or Paul Coffey? You&rsquo;re kidding, right?&#9633; No one ever gets it all right. But I sure wish Wally Harris had been working the whistle June 19,1999, when Brett Hull scored his no-goal in Buffalo. Put the asterisk on the Cup now.&#9633; Abolish the shorthanded team being allowed to ice the puck immediately. Make them play the puck, whether play is at full strength or shorthanded. Intentional icing while shorthanded? Call a penalty shot. One month into the season, no one will have to worry about whistling obstruction calls.&#9633; The game was never really underway in Montreal until Harry Sinden, tie slightly askew, stood up in the press box and delivered his soliloquy: &ldquo;Death! Taxes! First penalty at the Forum!&rdquo; &#9633;Kevin Dupont, winner of the 2002 Hockey Hall of Fame Elmer Ferguson Award, is a senior staff writer and NHL columnist for the Boston Globe and <a href="https://MSNBC.com">MSNBC.com</a>. &#9632;

f0017-02

A game well-chronicled

Jennifer Ferraro, the wife of Portland Pirates forward Chris Ferraro, died after a year-long fight with stomach cancer. She was diagnosed just before the 2001-02 season, weeks after the two were married. Chris took a one-year leave and spent the season caring for his wife. He re-signed with the Washington Capitals in August, with twin brother, Peter, and started the season with Portland. After the opening weekend, Chris Ferraro left to be with Jennifer. Peter had been traveling home weekly to be with Jennifer and Chris since the season began. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a sad, sad situation,&rdquo; Portland coach Tim Army told the Portland Press-Herald. &#9632;

Ferraro’s wife dies

Former NHLer Glenn Anderson reached an out-of-court settlement for child support with a woman who had his son 13 years ago. Owing more than $125,000 (Cdn.) in child support payments that were four years in arrears and ordered to pay $2,961 monthly in an earlier ruling, Anderson reached a deal with Patricia O&rsquo;Connor during a lunch break in Vancouver court proceedings. The settlement includes a lump-sum payment of $80,000 and monthly payments of $602. Anderson, 42, who doesn&rsquo;t have regular work, claims to have lost his fortune on the stock market. The two met in 1989 when Anderson played for Edmonton. &#9632;

Anderson settles

A U.S. court ruled in early November that Dallas prospect Anthony Aquino can no longer play for the Ontario League&rsquo;s Oshawa Generals. The court ruled Aquino, 20, is ineligible because an OHL rule prevents U.S. college players from playing an overage season if they had not already played in the league. Aquino left Merrimack College to join Oshawa. Another U.S. court will hear an appeal. The OHL rule is intended to prevent an NHL-drafted 20-year-old from leaving college to play an overage season in major junior and later becoming an unrestricted free agent by not signing with the NHL team that drafted him. &#9632;

Ruling stops Aquino

Former NHLers Ted Lindsay, Carl Brewer and Tim Horton were inducted into Canada&rsquo;s Sports Hall of Fame in early November. Lindsay, 77, starred on Detroit&rsquo;s famed Production Line with Gordie Howe and Sid Abel and was a leader among players in 1957 when the first union was formed. Brewer and Horton were stalwart defensemen who received their honors posthumously. Brewer was a strong advocate of players&rsquo; rights and died in 2001. He won the Stanley Cup three times. Horton, founder of the doughnut franchise by the same name, died in a 1974 car crash late in his illustrious playing career. &#9632;

Three make Hall

<div class="byline">BY AARON PORTZLINE</div>Bleeding from a cut above his left eye and out of breath from finishing a game only moments earlier, Kevin Dineen scooped up his three kids-daughters Hannah and Emma and son William-and returned to the ice in Nationwide Arena.This was not a victory lap, but a farewell to a wondrous career.Dineen, who played 19 seasons and 1,188 games with Hartford/Carolina, Philadelphia, Ottawa and Columbus, played his final game with the Blue Jackets Nov. 3 and retired two days later.&ldquo;I always told myself that I wouldn&rsquo;t hang on too long,&rdquo; Dineen said. &ldquo;But I wanted to walk away on my terms. I think I was true to both promises.&rdquo; Dineen was one of only six players to amass 350 goals and 1,200 penalty minutes, but his accomplishments go beyond numbers.The fearlessness with which he played never faded, even if the speed and skills began to erode later in his career. Factor in his battle with Crohns Disease-an intestinal affliction-and his career borders on miraculous.&ldquo;You look at his body and you can see the scars,&rdquo; said Jackets winger Geoff Sanderson. &ldquo;He paid the price for everything and after 19 years he was still willing to pay the price.&rdquo;Dineen finished with 355 goals and 760 points. His best season was 1988-89 when he had 45 goals and 89 points for Hartford.Hurricanes center Ron Francis, Dineen&rsquo;s closest friend in the game, described Dineen as the &ldquo;ultimate combination of ability and determination. People forget, but he had it all.&rdquo;Dineen, 39, also was regarded as the ultimate leader, not just as captain in Hartford, Carolina and Philadelphia, but in the guidance he showed younger players. Eric Lindros lived with Kevin and his family during his rookie season in Philadelphia.&ldquo;He took me under his wing (in 1991), too,&rdquo; Sanderson said. &ldquo;I owe a lot to Kevin and there&rsquo;s a ton of guys who can say that.&rdquo;Dineen will take an undetermined front-office job with Columbus for the rest of the season. A coaching career likely isn&rsquo;t far behind.Dineen was a three-time finalist for the Masterton Trophy. His charitable work includes the Crohns and Colitis Foundation, Special Olympics and the Autism Society<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011349/7189916-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="595" height="900"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Dineen was captain material for three NHL teams</figcaption></div><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/f0018-021004/7189909-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="177" height="194"></div>Weekly report of players making their NHL debuts.Vernon Fiddler, C, 22, Nsh, Nov. 2 at LA. Speedy, feisty ECHL grad was sent back to AHL after two games but impressed coaches.Mattias Welnhandl, RW, 22, NYI, Nov. 4 vs. Cgy. Playing with barely 10 per cent vision in one eye, the skilled Swede debuted on Yashin&rsquo;s line. &#9632;

f0018-01

Scrappy Dineen retires

<div class="byline">THN STAFF</div>A fan who jumped onto the ice naked at a Calgary Flames game may escape charges, but received the wrath of an enraged mother.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m embarrassed for all mothers all over the world,&rdquo; Jackie Hurlbut said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe this is happening. He has really embarrassed his mother.&rdquo;Tim Hurlbut, from Provost, Alta., was at the Flames&rsquo; Oct. 17 game against Boston when he stripped down to just his socks, climbed over the glass next to the penalty box and hopped onto the ice. Upon landing, he fell backwards, hit his head and knocked himself unconscious.Hurlbut, 21, pulled the stunt when two strangers offered him $200 he said he needed for school books. He never collected the money, owes $400 in ambulance bills and faces mischief charges.&ldquo;It was a bet,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I don&rsquo;t like about it-that I came off as some drunken fool.&rdquo;Hurlbut was admonished by his fiancee and his mother.&ldquo;This is a mother&rsquo;s worst fear,&rdquo; Jackie Hurlbut said. &ldquo;The whole of Provost is going to know now. My church group-I am a born-again Christian and this is not going to help.&rdquo;HOCKEY DAD SUES Not seeing his 16-year-old son win an MVP award has prompted a New Brunswick man to sue the provincial hockey association.Michael Croteau is seeking $300,000 in psychological and punitive damages because he says his son, Steven, was deserving of the MVP trophy. Croteau also wants the award to be taken away from the winner Croteau said his son was so crushed after losing the provincial bantam AAA MVP award that he lost his love for the game.LAWSUIT TOSSED A judge dismissed a lawsuit that accused a hockey dad/coach of putting a bounty on the head of an opposing team&rsquo;s player.Peter Higley testified he never made the threat and didn&rsquo;t even know what &ldquo;bounty&rdquo; means.Nine-year-old John Bijelic told a Toronto court he thought Higley, the coach, was going to &ldquo;rip my head off&rdquo; after a punch was thrown during a handshake ceremony.Higley says a boy from Bijelic&rsquo;s team sucker-punched his son Calvin, following a game in July, 2001.Justice Pamela Thomson criticized the parents and coach for causing &ldquo;this whole sad mess.&rdquo; &#9632;

Streaking fan doffed clothes after dare from strangers

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03609/7189978-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="628" height="1959"></div><h2>Don&rsquo;t these players ever take a break?</h2>Here are defense (D) and forward (F) leaders in ice time for each team as of Nov. 7. See NHL team reports for analysis.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011250/7189985-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="221" height="223"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02912/7189971-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="1205" height="1364"><figcaption class="caption-body">With three goals and five points through 12 games, Bryan Berard&rsquo;s offensive instincts have re-emerged on the Bruin blueline.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0019-03

NHL TEAM REPORTS

<div class="byline">-Dan Wood</div>Hockey took a back seat to real life when backup goaltender Martin Gerber left the Ducks in early November to visit his terminally ill mother in his native Switzerland.&ldquo;It puts perspective on things, doesn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; said Ducks coach Mike Babcock.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04467/7190016-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="220" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Obviously, the most important thing in life is your family I told him that my mom died of cancer. I was 29, and he&rsquo;s 28. It&rsquo;s a nightmare. Like I said to him, the only gift of cancer, if there is one, is you get to say goodbye.&rdquo;In his first season in North America, Gerber went 1-1-1 with a 2.53 goals-against average and. 890 save percentage in three starts and one relief appearance before returning home. The Ducks recalled Jean-Francois Damphousse from American League affiliate Cincinnati to back up starter Jean-Sebastien Giguere. It was uncertain how long Gerber would be with his mother and away from the team.&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t sound like there&rsquo;s any opportunity for recovery,&rdquo; Babcock said. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s had it for a year and a half. He&rsquo;s going home for the last time to see his mom. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Keith Carney, D. Despite constantly being matched against the opposition&rsquo;s top line, Carney playing just under 23 minutes a game, has been a stabilizing force since arriving in a June, 2001 trade with Phoenix.Steve Rucchin, C. Whether it is a key faceoff, trying to protect a lead or needing to score a goal, Rucchin is likely to be on the ice. His outstanding early-season play served as a reminder of what Anaheim missed during his past two injury-plagued seasons.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;It was a bad call and I let him know, but I&rsquo;ve said the same thing a million times after calls and not gotten an unsportsmanlike. I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;ve done to this guy. Hopefully, we don&rsquo;t get him too often.&rdquo;-Ducks left winger Paul Kariya, trying to explain a rare unsportsmanlike-conduct infraction for arguing a hooking call made by rookie referee Bob Langdon in an Oct. 31 game at Boston.NOTEBOOK With two assists in a 2-1 victory over Nashville Nov. 6, center Steve Rucchin matched the career-high sevengame scoring streak he established in November 1998&hellip; Center Adam Oates, who suffered a broken left hand Oct. 24, resumed skating Nov. 3, but did not figure to be able to shoot or stickhandle until midNovember at the earliest. &#9632;

f0019-04

Gerber returns home to help ailing mother

<div class="byline">-Jeff Schultz</div>The Atlanta Thrashers entered this year wanting to play meaningful games in March. It appears now that even December is out of the question.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05355/7190047-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="220" height="221"><figcaption class="caption-body">ATLANTA THRASHERS</figcaption></div>A pathetic performance and 5-0 loss in Chicago Nov. 7 left the team 1-9-1-1 after a dozen games, further eroding what remained of coach Curt Fraser&rsquo;s shaky job security Atlanta actually had a win and a tie in its previous two games, but thoughts of a turnaround evaporated with Chicago&rsquo;s three-goal first period, during which Fraser called a timeout and berated his players.&ldquo;It went from bad to worse,&rdquo; said Fraser.He could have been talking about the game, the season or the team&rsquo;s four-year existence.Attendance is at an all-time low and so is the team&rsquo;s confidence, despite the fact this roster probably has more talent than any of the previous three. But defensive problems remain and the team&rsquo;s goaltending has been the worst of any season. Given underwhelming play from No. 1 man Milan Hnilicka, GM Don Waddell was continuing to ponder signing free agent goalie Byron Dafoe.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Daniel Tjarnqvist, D. The second-year defenseman from Sweden has been Atlanta&rsquo;s best defenseman since the second half of his rookie year. Tjarnqvist, playing more than 26 minutes a night, is steady with the puck and rarely makes mistakes.Dany Heatley, RW. Though he has had several early season turnovers, Heatley, at just under 20 minutes a night, has led the team in points most of the year, kills penalties and plays the point on the power play.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t get into coaching for the job security. Even coaches who win sometimes get let go.&rdquo;-Coach Curt Fraser, who is in the final year of his contract and in danger of being fired.NOTEBOOK A 3-1 win in Florida after an 0-8-1-1 start actually broke a 19-game winless streak (0-13-4-2), dating back to last season&hellip; Left winger Lubos Bartecko suffered a fractured wrist that will sideline him until at least late December&hellip;Left winger Tomi Kallio was suspended after he refused to accept a minor league assignment&hellip; Defenseman Uwe Krupp is out until at least February after back surgery. &#9632;

f0019-05

Doomed to despair by disastrous start?

<div class="byline">-Mike Loftus</div>It looks like Jonathan Girard can stop making those round trips from Providence, R.I., to Boston.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m able to jump that step to the next level,&rdquo; said Girard, the 22-year-old defenseman who had played between three and 31 games for Boston each year since he was drafted 48th overall in 1998. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t ready for the past couple years.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-06272/7190078-1-eng-US/f0019-062.jpg" title="f0019-06" width="218" height="224"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOSTON BRUINS</figcaption></div>Some wondered if the organization&rsquo;s patience with Girard might have started to run out last year, when he was one of the first players assigned to the Bruins&rsquo; American League affiliate at Providence. He responded with his strongest all-around pro season (six goals, 37 points) and played in the AHL All-Star game. Girard impressed in his lone playoff appearance for Boston and quickly settled in beside veteran Hal Gill at the start of this year.Girard had had a goal and three points and was plus-4 while averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time through 12 games.&ldquo;Things have gone well,&rdquo; he said &ldquo;so I&rsquo;m going to keep practicing hard, keeping good habits, working on detail.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Hal Gill, D. A stay-at-homer playing an average 21:12 per game, Gill gets no power play time, but is always matched against top opposing forwards and routinely kills up to two-thirds of each shorthanded situation.Joe Thornton, C. Second on the ice-time list (by seven seconds) through 12 games, Thornton&rsquo;s all-situation status includes more penalty-killing time than linemate Glen Murray. Thornton takes most of Boston&rsquo;s key faceoffs.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got two goaltenders. Both are very good and very qualified. We&rsquo;re going to use both until we see what shakes out.&rdquo;-Coach Rob Ftorek on the competition between Steve Shields and John Grahame.NOTEBOOK Boston&rsquo;s 2-1 overtime loss Nov. 7 at Detroit ended a 5-0-1 road unbeaten streak and prevented the Bruins from earning the 1,000th road victory in franchise history&hellip; Boston was scheduled to play six games in 10 days between Nov. 7 and Nov. 16. Left winger Sergei Samsonov, who sprained a wrist Oct. 16 at Vancouver, was expected to return to the lineup sometime during that stretch. &#9632;

f0019-06

Rearguard Girard finds home with Bs

<div class="byline">-Bucky Gleason</div>Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier for years has been the quiet, patient type, but he might not want to wait much longer before getting busy in the trade market.Fans were howling for Regier to make a deal after watching the Sabres go winless in a six-game road trip (0-4-2-0) for the first time in history. Buffalo was shut out twice and scored just six goals during the skid.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011139/7190109-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="217" height="224"><figcaption class="caption-body">BUFFALO SABRES</figcaption></div>Things certainly haven&rsquo;t gone as fans had hoped, especially after Buffalo opened the year with back-to-back wins, scoring 11 goals in the two games.Coach Lindy Ruff believes the problem has less to do with personnel and more to do with a team that has been snake-bitten on offense. Fans were also unhappy with Ruff, who might have reached his lowest point in his six seasons in Buffalo.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t given up on this club,&rdquo; Ruff said. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t come to the point where I want to pull the pin and say, &lsquo;Listen, we have to trade half these guys.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s the last thing on my mind.&rdquo;Buffalo already had enough scoring woes before losing Miroslav Satan for at least three games to a hip injury. Satan, who has led the team in scoring five straight years, had played 256 straight games, the fourth-longest active streak in the NHL.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Alexei Zhitnik, D. He has logged the most ice time for years because he can play in any situation, but the 24 minutes he&rsquo;s getting this year hasn&rsquo;t equated to better playCurtis Brown, C. The 17-plus minutes he has averaged is about the same as leading scorer Chris Gratton, but Brown had but one assist to show for his first 13 games.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;Right now, it&rsquo;s a round peg in a square hole.&rdquo;-Coach Lindy Ruff on his team&rsquo;s effort to break its scoring slump.NOTEBOOK Buffalo had the distinction of being the second team in history to blow a third period lead against Columbus. The Jackets were 1-75-4-2 before Buffalo allowed two goals in the final period Nov. 3&hellip;Right winger Maxim Afinogenov went seven days without symptoms from a concussion, but was still weeks away from joining the team&hellip;Defenseman Alexei Zhitnik was suspended two games Nov. 8 for a knee-on-knee hit on Carolina&rsquo;s Jan Hlavac, who was mildly injured on the play&hellip;Rookie blueliner Henrik Tallinder was expected to be out until at least mid-November with a separated shoulder&hellip;Buffalo was mired in a 2-for-48 slump on the power play. &#9632;

f0020-01

Regier feeling heat after team’s slow start

<div class="byline">-Eric Duhatschek</div>Of all the good things Chris Drury is doing for the Calgary Flames-scoring big goals, anchoring the power play, playing solidly in the defensive zone-which quality does coach Greg Gilbert prize the most?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02780/7190147-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="218" height="226"><figcaption class="caption-body">CALGARY FLAMES</figcaption></div>According to Gilbert, it is Drury&rsquo;s desire to make an impact on every shift. &ldquo;He plays every night as if he wants to be the difference in the game,&rdquo; said Gilbert. &ldquo;We want all our players to think like that.&rdquo; If only they could. Thanks to Drury&rsquo;s timely goal-scoring, the Flames completed a memorable week in the New York area, earning five of a possible six points in games against the Islanders, Devils and Rangers.Calgary won the first two games of the trip, with Drury scoring the winning goal both nights, and then earned a point from a 1-0 overtime loss to the Rangers. Only moments before the Rangers&rsquo; Brian Leetch scored the game-winner, Drury had sifted through the New York defense and tipped a pass off the goalpost.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Toni Lydman, D. Lydman&rsquo;s play in his second full season has been the most pleasant surprise in a season full of them. Not only is he capable of making a smart first pass out of the zone, his speed enables him to join the rush and create some offensive opportunities as the trailer on the play.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03534/7190140-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="232" height="282"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Drury</figcaption></div>Jarome Iginla, RW. Iginla&rsquo;s scoring totals are down from a year ago, but he continues to play more than any forward on the team (21:37). His penaltykilling duties have been reduced, but he plays on the first power play unit and occasionally double-shifts when the Flames shorten their bench.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing like we&rsquo;re happy with the point. We&rsquo;re sacrificing defense to try and win the game, taking chances and making high-risk plays. It&rsquo;s unacceptable.&rdquo;-Coach Greg Gilbert, on Calgary&rsquo;s 0-3-3 overtime record.NOTEBOOK Life as a backup goalie is all about seizing the moment, something Jamie McLennan understands. With Roman Turek out with a broken middle finger on his left hand, McLennan started three straight games through Nov. 8 and helped the Flames earn five of a possible six points. &#9632;

f0020-02

Drury’s work ethic pleases coach Gilbert

<div class="byline">-Luke DeCock</div>Arturs Irbe is happy that Kevin Weekes has played this season. But that&rsquo;s all he&rsquo;s happy about.When Weekes made his 10th start in 11 games, Irbe decided he&rsquo;d had enough.Irbe is the franchise&rsquo;s alltime winningest goaltender and has played 206 of 260 games over the past four seasons. &ldquo;Either it&rsquo;s here or somewhere else, but I need to get my life back on track,&rdquo; Irbe said. &ldquo;I need to play.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04340/7190178-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="219" height="225"></div>CAROLINA HURRICANES GM Jim Rutherford said he had no intention of trading Irbe.It&rsquo;s a difficult situation, because Weekes was playing so well. In an eight-game stretch, he had a 1.46 goals-against average and. 955 save percentage-numbers he capped with a 26-save shutout of Buffalo Nov. 7.Last year, Tom Barrasso briefly took over the No. 1 job early in the season, while Weekes did the same in the playoffs. In both cases, Irbe reclaimed the starting role.&ldquo;I hate the situation,&rdquo; Irbe said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not happy. I&rsquo;m working my (butt) off right now any way I can to get back in the net. It hasn&rsquo;t been easy It has been hard. I&rsquo;ve dealt with this before, but it doesn&rsquo;t make it any easier.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Bret Hedican, D. The Canes have actually thought about cutting back Hedican&rsquo;s power play time to keep him fresh because he&rsquo;s playing so much in defensive situations.Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, C. The only forward among the NHL&rsquo;s top 30 in average ice time (24:35), he&rsquo;s on the ice for every key faceoff, every key penalty kill and leads the team with five power play goals. And given the opportunity, he&rsquo;d play more.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;There is some heavy drinking going on in the shot-clock booth.&rdquo;-Coach Paul Maurice after the Canes were credited with only 18 shots by the RBC Center&rsquo;s off-ice officials Nov. 5.NOTEBOOK Left winger Jan Hlavac took almost a week to get across the border after the Canes acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks-and less than a period to get hurt. Hlavac was hit knee-to-knee by Buffalo Sabres defenseman Alexei Zhitnik in his debut Nov. 7, but managed to set up a goal by right winger Jeff O&rsquo;Neill in the process. Hlavac suffered a Charley horse and was day-to-day Zhitnik was suspended for two games&hellip; Carolina opened a nine-game homestand 2-0-1-1. &#9632;

f0020-04

Veteran goalie Irbe irked by reduced role

<div class="byline">-Tim Sassone</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02523/7190209-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chicago&rsquo;s Kyle Calder stickhandles around Nashville defenseman Kimmo Timonen.</figcaption></div>Andrei Nikolishin wasted no time making a big impact with the Chicago Blackhawks.Acquired from Washington along with left winger Chris Simon for centerMichael Nylander and draft picks Nov. 1, Nikolishin made an immediate contribution. He won 53 of 83 faceoffs in four games, scored a goal Nov. 5 in a 2-0 win at Detroit and provided some much-needed grit.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01902/7190216-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="219" height="222"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chicago Blackhawks.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;You look at our conference and why did we lose against St. Louis (in the playoffs)?&rdquo; said coach Brian Sutter. &ldquo;You can say we didn&rsquo;t score goals, but I know the Keith Tkachuks and those guys had some fun&hellip; We feel Andrei can come in and take a pile of faceoffs.&rdquo;Nikolishin was without a contract before the trade, but agreed to a two-year, $3.2-million deal with Chicago.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Jon Klemm, D. With the game on the line against the opposition&rsquo;s best, Klemm will be on the ice (20 minutes) because of his composure under pressure and smarts with the puck.Alex Zhamnov, C. Zhamnov leads the Hawks in ice time (22 minutes) because he is their best player in every situation. Sutter sometimes uses him every other shift in the third period.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;He was trying to tell me how to take draws the other day. How the heck would he know? He was a wing.&rdquo;-Center Tyler Arnason about a conversation with his dad Chuck, a former NHL player.NOTEBOOK During a meeting with GM Mike Smith Nov. 3, left winger Bob Probert was given the option of retiring and taking a front-office job, going on waivers to see if another team was interested, or accepting an American League assignment. The 37-year-old feels he can still contribute to an NHL team. &ldquo;It would be nice to get in a game to see if I can still play,&rdquo; Probert said. He has been on. injured reserve all season with a groin injury the Hawks have embellished&hellip; Struggling center Igor Korolev cleared waivers Nov. 4 and remained with the team&hellip; Defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev is expected to be out until late December after breaking his foot blocking a shot Nov. 5. &#9632;

f0021-02

Faceoff specialist Nikolishin gives Hawks tools at center

<div class="byline">-Adrian Dater</div>Bad penalty killing. Timid play in front of the net. Defensemen caught out of position. Dumb penalties.That about describes the play of the Colorado Avalanche on home ice this season, where the team is historically used to taking two points most nights.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03304/7190247-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="221" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">COLORADO AVALANCFE</figcaption></div>But after six games, the Avs still hadn&rsquo;t won a game at the Pepsi Center (0-3-3-0), which sounded alarm bells all over the Mile High City. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not too tough a team to beat right now,&rdquo; said Peter Forsberg, after a 5-2 drubbing at the hands of Ottawa Nov. 6. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get things turned around at home, fast.&rdquo;The biggest factor hurting the Avs has been their atrocious penalty kill. Solid last season, it ranked 27th in the league (78.9 per cent) after 13 games. The loss of center Stephane Yelle has hurt the penalty killing unit, which has been relying on center Jeff Shantz, right winger Mike Keane and left winger Eric Messier to do the majority of the work.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Adam Foote, D. On just about every shift Jarome Iginla took in a recent Flames-Avalanche game, Foote was there shadowing him. Iginla finished the game without a goal and Foote was the main reason. Hounding the opponent&rsquo;s biggest and best scorer is a nightly chore for Foote, who is playing around 27 minutes a games.Peter Forsberg, LW. The Avalanche try to limit Forsberg to 21-22 minutes a &lsquo;game, but Forsberg will be on the ice whenever danger lurks, even in defensive situations. He has often been moved onto the same line with Joe Sakic this season, whenever the Avs need some energy offensively.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;I think, at home, we&rsquo;re too fancy We play one way on the road, and another way at home.&rdquo;-Right winger Mike Keane, on the team&rsquo;s winless start through six at the Pepsi Center.NOTEBOOK Goaltender Patrick Roy missed some games because of a sore left hip, the result of fluid buildup. The 37-year-old Roy, who is taking medication to reduce the fluid, has had problems with his right hip in the past, requiring minor surgery&hellip; The Avs had a scout at a recent N.Y. Islanders game, and might be considering acquiring big left winger Brad Isbister. &#9632;

f0021-03

Poor discipline, defense to blame for Avs’ home woes

<div class="byline">-Aaron Portzline</div>The Columbus Blue Jackets had more to celebrate than just a victory when they defeated Buffalo 3-2 early in the season&rsquo;s second month.For one thing, the Nov. 3 win, which lifted Columbus to 5-5-1-0, represented the latest in a season the Jackets had ever been. 500.&ldquo;Good teams play hard and smart, but most of all they play together,&rdquo; said coach Dave King. &ldquo;Our team did that.&rdquo;Adding to the game&rsquo;s significance was the fact that it was veteran right winger Kevin Dineen&rsquo;s last of his career.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04220/7190278-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="220" height="227"></div>&ldquo;I told my teammates I was retiring before the game,&rdquo; Dineen said. &ldquo;We were down 2-0 and came back to win 3-2. It seemed appropriate to me, a real solid finish to it all. It was really nice to go out that way.&rdquo;In erasing a 2-0 Sabres&rsquo; lead, the Jackets made only their second third-period comeback win in franchise history. Prior to that game, they had been 1-72-4-2 when trailing after two periods.Columbus still has work to do on the road, though. The team is 0-44-1-1 when it trails after two periods as visitors.Five nights after the Buffalo win, Columbus sat at 6-5-1-1 after a 4-3 overtime loss to Washington Nov. 5 and a 5-2 win at St. Louis Nov. 7, their best start in team history.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Luke Richardson, D. There&rsquo;s no flash with Richardson, but the Jackets sorely need his steady hand and 22 minutes to play on the blueline and penalty kill.Andrew Cassels, C. Cassels puts in about 20 minutes a game centering Columbus&rsquo;s top line and playing on the top unit with both the power play and the penalty kill.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;He&rsquo;s overrated. I told him that, too. I told him the best move this organization ever made was not getting him.&rdquo;-Now-retired right winger Kevin Dineen on what he said to Buffalo&rsquo;s Chris Gratton while the two were verbally sparring during a Nov. 3 game. The Jackets have at least twice tried to trade for Gratton.NOTEBOOK Left winger Rick Nash played his 10th game Nov. 5, kicking in the first year of his contract and all but assuring he won&rsquo;t go back to junior. &#9632;

f0021-04

Milestone Jackets victory extra meaning for team

<div class="byline">-Chuck Carlton</div>In the ways that count most, the Ulf Dahlen that rejoined the Dallas Stars this season looks amazingly similar to the model that was with the franchise from 199094.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011030/7190309-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="219" height="223"><figcaption class="caption-body">DALLAS STARS</figcaption></div>Dahlen still has a vacuumlike tendency to suck up every puck in the corner. He continues to work wonders around the net, creating goals from positioning and hands. And he is still using the curiously open skating style, &ldquo;the 10 and 2&rdquo; skate positioning that gives him an advantage working in the offensive zone.&ldquo;I played against him a lot the past couple of years,&rdquo; said Bill Guerin, noting Dahlen scored 23 goals in Washington last season. &ldquo;He gave me headaches.&rdquo;Signed in August to a one-year, $1.5-million contract, Dahlen has rewarded the Stars with seven goals, second on the team to Mike Modano. With 11 points, he has one more than Pierre Turgeon and Scott Young combined.Although he&rsquo;s taken the scenic route in his career-playing in destinations like San Jose, Chicago, Washington and Jankoping, Sweden-it sometimes looks like he&rsquo;s been in cryogenic suspension since leaving the Stars.&ldquo;Yeah, like Austin Powers,&rdquo; Modano said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s picked up where he left off.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Sergei Zubov, D. There&rsquo;s a good reason Zubov ranked fifth in the NHL in minutes played. He is so good and so patient with the puck that it is only a matter of time before he makes a big play.Mike Modano, C. He is averaging 22:37 this season only because coach Dave Tippett has tried to free him from penaltykilling duties. With Modano, the extra time is almost an obligation, something he&rsquo;s gotten used to because of his versatility and talent.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;I&rsquo;m 30 years old and I&rsquo;ve been here for a third of my life. All four of my children are Texans. Everybody likes it here. In a perfect world, I want to stay here.&rdquo;-Stars captain Derian Hatcher, who can be an unrestricted free agent after the season.NOTEBOOK Center Pierre Turgeon continued to struggle and went eight games without a point&hellip; Left winger Scott Young was still looking for his first Stars goal after 14 games&hellip;A Stars idea to establish a minorleague affiliate in Austin, Tex., ended when voters rejected a proposal for a $32-million hockey rink. &#9632;

f0022-01

After eight years away, Dahlen lights up Stars

<div class="byline">-Nicholas J. Cotsonika</div>The Detroit Red Wings were1-3-1 in a five-game span, 2-32 over seven games and 6-5-2 overall. Luc Robitaille, Brendan Shanahan and Brett Hull had combined for only eight goals. The Wings were relying too much on special teams and weren&rsquo;t producing five-on-five. Combined with sub-par team defense and starting goaltending, several players had plummeting plus-minus ratings.Did someone say Stanley Cup hangover?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02721/7190347-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="216" height="224"><figcaption class="caption-body">DETROIT RED WINGS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t buy that at all,&rdquo; said coach Dave Lewis. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got players that expect an awful lot of themselves individually. You&rsquo;ve got players that expect a lot of themselves as a group. They&rsquo;re very critical of themselves and their own performance when things aren&rsquo;t going well.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03512/7190340-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="231" height="284"><figcaption class="caption-body">Nicklas Lidstrom</figcaption></div>Example No.1: Brett Hull.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s too disjointed, too much individual (stuff) and it&rsquo;s got to Stop,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got the best coaching staff. We&rsquo;ve got all the talent in the world. But if you play as individuals, you&rsquo;re never going to succeed. We need to come together as a group and play within Lewis&rsquo;s system and do the things he wants us to do because those are the right things&hellip; Until we do that, we&rsquo;re screwed.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Nicklas Lidstrom, D. The two-time defending Norris Trophy winner is averaging almost 30 outstanding minutes as usual. Through 14 games, he led NHL defensemen with seven goals.Sergei Fedorov, C. Lewis says Fedorov is &ldquo;getting the ice time he thrives on&rdquo; with Steve Yzerman injured. Fedorov, averaging 22-plus minutes, had nine goals through 14 games.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;I usually have advice for everyone. Not him. He&rsquo;s got enough people giving him advice.&rdquo;-Red Wings right winger Brett Hull on President George W. Bush, whom the defending Stanley Cup champs met Nov. 8 at the White House.NOTEBOOK Ross (Lefty) Wilson, the Wings&rsquo; trainer from 1950 to &lsquo;82, died of congestive heart failure in Marco Island, Fla. He was 83. Wilson appeared in three NHL games-one for the Wings, two against them-because in his day trainers with goaltending experience were used as substitutes. Wilson played goal in the minor leagues. &#9632;

f0022-02

Playing as Individuals sets Wings back early

<div class="byline">-Rob Tychkowski</div>Usually, players are the ones issuing play-me-or-trade-me ultimatums.This time, GM Kevin Lowe issued the call to his Edmonton Oilers: Start playing or I&rsquo;ll trade you.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04346/7190378-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="220" height="222"><figcaption class="caption-body">EDMONTON OILERS</figcaption></div>Lowe, whose team is off to its worst start in 10 years-just three wins in the first 12 games-threatened wholesale changes if the troops don&rsquo;t snap out of their early season funk.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t sink too much further behind because it&rsquo;ll be hard to make up the ground,&rdquo; said Lowe, following a 5-2 loss to the Rangers Nov. 5 that left Edmonton in 14th place after the first month of the season.&ldquo;Collectively, if we don&rsquo;t get better as a group, I&rsquo;m going to have to try and make some changes. And if we&rsquo;re going to do something it would be something major.&rdquo;Once again, scoring is the stumbling block. The Oilers scored a franchise-low 205 goals last season. With 29 goals in 12 games this year, they are behind that pace.&ldquo;It is just confidence,&rdquo; said coach Craig MacTavish. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of guys who are snakebit right now.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Janne Niinimaa, D. &ldquo;When we need goals or we&rsquo;re protecting the lead (Niinimaa is) a guy who&rsquo;s carrying a lot of the workload for us,&rdquo; said MacTavish. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s the fittest guy we have so he&rsquo;s capable of handling it.&rdquo;Mike Comrie, C. Comrie logged loads of ice time on the first line and first power play unit last year; now he has added penalty killing to his resume.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what it was. It was an absolutely stupid play. I mean, I&rsquo;ve been hit harder by my sister taking her lunch pail.&rdquo;-Oilers defenseman Eric Brewer, who suffered a sprained shoulder after a harmless-looking collision with Buffalo&rsquo;s Vaclav Varada Nov. 1.NOTEBOOK Left winger Marty Reasoner, who is from the New York area, had a number of family and friends set to watch him play against the Rangers, but on the day of the game the club sent him to American League Hamilton to make room on the roster for defenseman Ales Pisa. Reasoner spent the morning making calls, telling people he wouldn&rsquo;t be playing&hellip; Goalie Tommy Salo, a perennial MVP in Edmonton, had a 3.09 goals-against average and. 888 save percentage through Nov. 8. Backup Jussi Markkanen had a 1.91 GAA and. 919 SP in four games. &#9632;

f0022-04

Trades could happen If Ollers don’t improve

<div class="byline">-David J. Neal</div>Whether it is players who experience perpetual spring or the home life distractions, there&rsquo;s no place like home for the Florida Panthers.And, boy, are they glad.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01921/7190409-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="219" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">FLORIDA PANTHERS</figcaption></div>Florida had the NHL&rsquo;s worst home record last season and one regulation win in their first six home games this season. They average only 2.16 goals per game at home, slightly below the 2.37 they score on the road.&ldquo;We play, it seems to me, better prepared on the road,&rdquo; said coach Mike Keenan. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if it is because we have so many people that don&rsquo;t know how to get themselves ready, or that when we&rsquo;re on the road, at least they&rsquo;re in the confines of the group. We have more contact with them.&ldquo;Here, we don&rsquo;t and they&rsquo;re not thinking about playing hockey. They&rsquo;re thinking about whatever is preoccupying their mind. I&rsquo;ve noticed that since I&rsquo;ve been here.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Sandis Ozolinsh, D. Keenan believes the offensively superior Ozolinsh is is his best defenseman despite Ozolinsh&rsquo;s sometimes weak defense. His game is based more on his puckhandling than his skating, so fatigue doesn&rsquo;t much erode what he does best.Olli Jokinen, C. Becoming an all-around player means Jokinen gets time on both special teams and as No. 1 center. The more he plays, the more his speed and physical game make him a presence on the ice.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to drink 20 cups of coffee, more coffee, to stay in the game. It&rsquo;s not a joke; we&rsquo;ve got to find a way. If conventional methods are not working, we&rsquo;ve got to find something else.&rdquo;-Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, on the team&rsquo;s sluggish play, especially at home.NOTEBOOK The Panthers opened up a &ldquo;Den of Honor&rdquo; by inducting the franchise&rsquo;s first captain, Brian Skrudland, before Florida played the Calgary Flames, for which Skrudland is an assistant coach. Skrudland, taken in the expansion draft, was captain from 1993 to 1997&hellip; It took goalie Jani Hurme 11 games to get his first start, but just three to get his second. Coach Mike Keenan claimed Hurme was scheduled to start the Nov. 7 back end of a back-to-back series, but No. 1 netminder Roberto Luongo suffered a back injury Nov. 6 against Pittsburgh, making it a moot point as Hurme was forced into action. &#9632;

f0023-01

Struggles at home nothing new tor Cats

<div class="byline">-Matt McHale</div>Mike Cammalleri was set to make his NHL debut Nov. 8 in Ottawa, a month late, but just in the nick of time.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02601/7190440-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="220" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOS ANGELES KINGS</figcaption></div>The Kings had dropped two straight games and three of four since Jason Allison went down with a knee injury. Cammalleri, the team&rsquo;s top prospect who began the season at American League Manchester, stepped into Allison&rsquo;s first line center spot alongside Adam Deadmarsh and Ziggy Palffy.&ldquo;I am excited to be back,&rdquo; said Cammalleri, who led Manchester with four goals and 14 points. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be with some great players and it is a great opportunity to prove that I belong here.&rdquo;Cammalleri started camp ahead of Alexander Frolov, but quickly slid down the depth chart. Although he is just 5-foot-9, Cammalleri is a solid 190 pounds. But Kings coach Andy Murray said Cammalleri needed to improve his overall game and sent him to the minors.&ldquo;The NHL is a lot quicker and he needed to make that adjustment,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;You have less time to make your decisions up here. Mike is an outstanding player, but he needed to work on a few things.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Jaroslav Modry, D. He is at the top of his game averaging more than 25 minutes per night and getting significant power play minutes. In a four-game stretch after Allison went out, Modry carried the offense with five goals, including a game-winner in overtime against Nashville.Bryan Smolinski, C. The team&rsquo;s top defensive center, Smolinski has taken on the added responsibility of replacing Allison on the Kings&rsquo; top line and top power play unit. Despite a 30-game goal drought in the second half last year, he was strong in the playoffs defending against Colorado&rsquo;s Joe Sakic.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;The road has always been good for team morality.&rdquo;-Goaltender Jamie Storr, on the Kings&rsquo; extended road trip.NOTEBOOK Just one week after seriously injuring his knee, center Jason Allison showed a reduction in swelling and began range-of-motion exercises&hellip;With four goals, defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky had already surpassed last year&rsquo;s total of three&hellip;After scoring three goals in his first three games, center Eric Belanger did not have a goal in the next nine. &#9632;

f0023-02

Injuries to key players hurt road-weary Kings

<div class="byline">-Chip Scoggins</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04298/7190471-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Los Angeles&rsquo;s Mattias Norstrom battles Nashville&rsquo;s Greg Johnson.</figcaption></div>Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said he has no immediate plans to change his system of rotating his goaltenders.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03423/7190478-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="219" height="227"><figcaption class="caption-body">MINNESOTA WILD</figcaption></div>Lemaire said he likes alternating Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson because it keeps both fresh and they seem to thrive on the competition. Lemaire started the same goalie in consecutive games only once in the first 14 contests.Lemaire stayed the course despite a fast start by Fernandez, who went 6-0-0 in October.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no reason to change,&rdquo; Lemaire said.&#9632; &ldquo;Maybe at a time when a guy was really good and very confident I could have gone with him a little longer. But it was too early.&rdquo;Lemaire said he wants to give both goalies plenty of work early in the season so they remain sharp. Plus, it keeps them on their toes.&ldquo;Competition is healthy,&rdquo; Lemaire said. &ldquo;If the other guys wins, you want to go in and win your game. It has an advantage if your goalies can do it.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Filip Kuba, D. Kuba averages nearly 25 minutes per game and plays in all situations. He is steady on defense, has a big shot from the point on the power play and took on a bigger load when Lubomir Sekeras went down to injury.Marian Gaborik, RW. Lemaire has started using his budding superstar on the penalty-killing unit, which is viewed as another step in Gaborik&rsquo;s development.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the coach. He can very well do what he wants.&rdquo;-Goalie Manny Fernandez, on Lemaire&rsquo;s decision to replace him after allowing three goals in the first period in a loss to Phoenix Nov. 7.NOTEBOOK The Wild added depth to its blueline Nov. 2 by claiming defenseman Andrei Zyuzin off waivers from New Jersey. Drafted second overall by San Jose in 1996, Zyuzin appeared in just one game with the Devils and made his Wild debut Nov. 7 against Phoenix. &ldquo;He can skate and he has got a good shot,&rdquo; said Jacques Lemaire. &ldquo;Now, we just have to see what he&rsquo;s going to do.&rdquo;&hellip; Right winger Marian Gaborik recorded his third career hat trick against Los Angeles Nov. 4. He scored one goal on the power play, one shorthanded and one into an empty net. Gaborik had 10 goals in the first 14 games. &#9632;

f0023-04

Rotating goaltenders part of Lemaire’s plan

<div class="byline">-Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01998/7190509-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Montreal&rsquo;s Doug Gilmour has justfive points through 12 games.</figcaption></div>For the second time in three seasons, Craig Rivet is faced with the possibility of having his season cut short due to injury.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02680/7190516-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="221" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">Montreal Canadiens</figcaption></div>The Montreal Canadiens defenseman is suffering from a painful left wrist-even after undergoing offseason surgery. Rivet has been visiting specialists in the U.S. to determine what&rsquo;s causing the discomfort and to assure no further damage can be sustained should he continue playing.Surgery, which would end his season, isn&rsquo;t required.&ldquo;The wrist isn&rsquo;t getting any better,&rdquo; said a fearful Rivet. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say how much the injury affects me, but my strength in the left wrist is way off.&rdquo;Rivet suffered the injury during a fight against Andre Roy, then with Ottawa, in a September 2001 pre-season game. After missing 55 games with a shoulder injury the previous season, Rivet was determined to remain in the lineup and played the entire season with a cast. He underwent surgery last summer, but problems persisted.Rivet has now shed his cast, wearing a leather brace instead. He said he&rsquo;d be unable to play without it.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Patrice Brisebois, D. Brisebois remains Montreal&rsquo;s best offensive defenseman and its most experienced. He plays over 25 minutes a night and can still deliver a good first pass out of his zone to a streaking forward.Joe Juneau, C. Perhaps the team&rsquo;s best defensive forward, Juneau receives his regular shift-playing against the opposition&rsquo;s top line-and also kills penalties. A good skater, Juneau logs 18-plus minutes per game and might be the team&rsquo;s most intelligent player.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not the same team at home as we are on the road. We seem to be nervous here at the Bell Centre.&rdquo;-Coach Michel Therrien, who has seen his team start 2-3-3-0 at home this season.NOTEBOOK After initially being assured he wasn&rsquo;t on the trading block, it again seems likely right winger Donald Audette will be moved. He had no points in nine games and was a healthy scratch for four consecutive contests&hellip; Veteran goalie Jeff Hackett still expects to be traded despite going undefeated in six games with a 2.29 goals-against average. He vowed he&rsquo;d retire at the end of the season if he&rsquo;s traded to a non-contending team. &#9632;

f0024-01

Rivet’s injured wrist could end year early

<div class="byline">-David Boclair</div>Barry Trotz conceded that Scottie Upshall was among the 23 best players in the organization. Even so, after Upshall, the sixth pick in last June&rsquo;s draft, played eight games he was reassigned to Kamloops of the Western League.Team officials cited a lack of significant minutes, concern over the physical demands of an NHL schedule on an smallish 18-year-old and the effect of mounting losses on his mindset as reasons to make the change.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03449/7190547-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="219" height="224"><figcaption class="caption-body">NASHVILLE PREDATORS</figcaption></div>Those issues apparently outweighed the facts that he led the team in plus-minus (plus-2) and had more goals (one) than forwards Brent Gilchrist, Clarke Wilm, Martin Erat and Scott Hartnell-among others-at the time of his departure.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t on the ice for any goals against, which for a team that isn&rsquo;t winning is impressive, I think,&rdquo; Upshall said. &ldquo;Obviously I did my part to show that I belong there. I believe I was a solid player.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Kimmo Timonen, D. Coaches have tried to limit his minutes-he&rsquo;s up to almost 25 a game-but the fact defenseman Cale Hulse has averaged better than two penalty minutes per game has forced Timonen into a semiregular penalty-killing role.David Legwand, C. Legwand learned to play defense the past three seasons when he wasn&rsquo;t scoring. Now that he is scoring, his role in offensive situations has increased, while his ice time in defensive situations has not changed. He sees about 19 minutes of ice a game.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been through this before. It makes you feel like you&rsquo;re the worst team and you don&rsquo;t even belong in the league. Emotionally, it is hard to deal with things. It&rsquo;s not fun right now, it really isn&rsquo;t.&rdquo; -Defenseman Bill Houlder, on the challenge faced by Nashville&rsquo;s numerous young players given the team&rsquo;s 1-6-2-4 start, nine of the losses by one goal.NOTEBOOK Goalie Tomas Vokoun was winless (0-4-1) through his first five starts for the third time in four seasons, this time despite a 2.33 goals-against average and a. 921 save percentage&hellip; Right winger Denis Pederson played his 400th career game Nov. 3 at Phoenix-and sustained a torn biceps that potentially could require season-ending surgery&hellip;Defenseman Andy Delmore had 15 power play goals in his first 83 games with Nashville. The alltime franchise record is 25 by Cliff Ronning, in 301 games. &#9632;

f0024-03

Despite good showing, Upshall sent to junior

<div class="byline">-Rich Chere</div>Joe Nieuwendyk wasn&rsquo;t worried about a slow start in his first full season with the New Jersey Devils.Throughout his career, Nieuwendyk said, he has scored goals in bunches.But as the veteran center inched closer to joining the 500-goal club, his goals were barely trickling in. He did not score his second goal of the season until the Devils&rsquo; ninth game and he was on pace to score only 16 times this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04291/7190578-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="216" height="223"><figcaption class="caption-body">NEW JERSEY DEVILS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Do I care about my stats? Obviously I care,&rdquo; Nieuwendyk said. &ldquo;But I would take a 6-2 start with the stats I have as opposed to eight goals and a 2-6 start.&rdquo;Coach Pat Burns, whose club went 8-3-0-0 in his first 11 games behind the bench, said he was not worried about Nieuwendyk.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting chances,&rdquo; Burns said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing well. If he keeps on playing in that direction, he&rsquo;ll get some goals.&rdquo;Nieuwendyk had 496 career goals as of Nov. 7.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Scott Stevens, D. Even at age 38, with a sore groin that has lingered all season, Stevens remains the Devils&rsquo; workhorse on defense. Often matched against the top opposing line with Brian Rafalski, Stevens was to averaging 22 minutes per game this season.John Madden, C. Since the off-season departure of Bobby Holik, Madden has stepped up as the team&rsquo;s No. 1 checking center. A shorthanded threat while killing penalties, Madden&rsquo;s ice time continued to rise-up to nearly 17 minutes-as he collected four goals in the team&rsquo;s first 11 games.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;I think being captain has become more and more important. It means a lot more than it used to in the NHL. It has become more challenging. I can&rsquo;t pinpoint exact moments, but there were times when I thought about giving it up. I changed my mind quickly. But being captain is tougher than it used to be.&rdquo;-Defenseman Scott Stevens, on his captaincy.NOTEBOOK Left winger Patrik Elias, who found himself on the bench in several key situations, said he wasn&rsquo;t sure he could ever have the &ldquo;same feeling&rdquo; of confidence he had playing with former Devils Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora for two-and-a-half seasons. Elias said he hasn&rsquo;t yet been able to gain coach Pat Burns&rsquo; confidence. &#9632;

f0024-04

Nieuwendyk pleased with team’s hot start

<div class="byline">-Peter Botte</div>Michael Peca insists there will be no more surprises until he returns in December. One shocker, apparently, was plenty.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01895/7190609-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="221" height="224"><figcaption class="caption-body">NEW YORK ISLANDERS</figcaption></div>Isles GM Mike Milbury acknowledged his flailing club &ldquo;grasped at a straw and missed&rdquo; when Peca, their rehabbing captain, made a 27-second return to the lineup in a motivational stunt during a 6-1 home loss to St. Louis Nov. 2.It was more than one month before the Isles&rsquo; target date for the start of his comeback from May knee and shoulder surgeries. Peca lost the opening faceoff and didn&rsquo;t play another shift for the remainder of the blowout defeat.So much for motivation.&ldquo;We were trying to change the psyche a little to try to get people charged up. It was a little desperate, but in the long run, there was really no harm to it,&rdquo; said Milbury. &ldquo;It was an attempt to motivate, but put it in the category of &lsquo;nice try.&rsquo; &ldquo;Peca, who hadn&rsquo;t played since Toronto&rsquo;s Darcy Tucker nailed him with a low-bridge hit in Game 5 of the opening round of the playoffs April 26, had been skating with his team in practice and during morning skates for several weeks.&ldquo;It was fun to be out there again,&rdquo; Peca said, &ldquo;but not in a game like that.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Adrian Aucoin, D. The NHL&rsquo;s leader in total ice-time last season has picked up where he left off. He was averaging an NHL-high 30:46 per game-including first power-play and penalty-killing units-through 12 games.Alexei Yashin, C. The only Isles forward averaging more than 20 minutes per game (21:27), Yashin plays at least 90 seconds of every power play. He even has earned some shorthanded shifts.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;It just seems like last year was a dream. It doesn&rsquo;t seem like it even happened&hellip; We came back from two years ago and were the lastplace team in the league. We&rsquo;re starting to repeat ourselves.&rdquo;-Islanders right winger Mark Parrish on the team&rsquo;s 3-8-1 start.NOTEBOOK GM Mike Milbury tried to shake up his struggling roster Nov. 4 when he recalled three offensive forwards-rookies Mattias Weinhandl and Trent Hunter and journeyman Eric Manlow-from American League Bridgeport. Hard-working rookie forwards Raffi Torres and Justin Mapletoft were returned to the minors. &#9632;

f0025-01

Peca’s surprise return fails to motivate Isles

<div class="byline">-Rick Carpiniello</div>This was not familiar territory. Bryan Trottier went where no Rangers coach has gone in half a decade.Trottier took his most important player and nailed him to the bench. And that was before Eric Lindros took the penalty that cost his team the game, a 3-2 loss to St. Louis Nov. 3.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02576/7190640-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="215" height="220"><figcaption class="caption-body">NASHVILLE PREDATORS</figcaption></div>Lindros had taken far too many penalties this season-he&rsquo;s been suspended once, ejected from another game, and in each game of a three-game losing streak he took a penalty which altered the outcome.That went with, at the time, his two goals (scored 26 seconds apart 10 games ago) and four assists, both of which are one more than Dale Purinton&rsquo;s scoring totals.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just the timing of it, and it just happens to be Eric,&rdquo; Trottier said. &ldquo;We talk about it all the time. It just happens that they score on those penalties.&rdquo;Lindros, who called this the biggest slump of his career, was asked if he feels he is being targeted.&ldquo;At times it feels that way,&rdquo; Lindros said. &ldquo;You know, this is hockey. This isn&rsquo;t a non-contact sport. I understand what they&rsquo;re trying to do, as far as trying to open ice for players, but we still have to play the game.&rdquo; (See pg.15 for more on Lindros and Trottier.)MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Brian Leetch, D. A perennial league leader in minutes played, Leetch has been able to trim off a couple of minutes this season due to the emergence of the Vladimir Malakhov-Dale Pur inton pair. Leetch has a reputation of being among the NHL&rsquo;s elite when it comes to recovery time between shifts.Eric Lindros, C. As the season goes on, no doubt Lindros will up his minutes from the average of 19:40 he&rsquo;d had over the first 15 games. Part of that average was skewed by an early game misconduct and an overabundance of minor penalties.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;There was a great sale at Wal-Mart, so I went and picked up a couple of sets of each.&rdquo;-Rangers defenseman Dale Purinton, on the improvement in his hands and feet since he first arrived in the NHL.NOTEBOOK Center Mark Messier passed Larry Murphy by playing in his 1,616th NHL game. Only Gordie Howe (1.767) has played more games, but Messier would have to play every game this season and next, plus two games in 2004-05 to claim the record. &#9632;

f0025-02

Costly errors, penalties put Lindros on bench

<div class="byline">-Bruce Garrioch</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04230/7190671-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marian Hossa&rsquo;s sweet scoring touch gives Ottawa reason to smile.</figcaption></div>Radek Bonk returned to the Senators&rsquo; lineup, but he wasn&rsquo;t a center of attention anymore.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03369/7190678-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="216" height="223"><figcaption class="caption-body">OTTAWA SENATORS</figcaption></div>After being given medical clearance to play Nov. 6 against Colorado, Bonk found himself on the left side of rookie center Jason Spezza and right winger Marian Hossa in his return.Trying to keep his combinations together and find a way to keep Spezza on the top two lines, coach Jacques Martin made the switch because Bonk had played the left side briefly earlier in his career.&ldquo;As long as I&rsquo;m wearing the right sweater I&rsquo;m happy,&rdquo; Spezza said. &ldquo;I just want to keep getting my chance to play. (Bonk) and I have spoken about it because we needed to discuss positioning. I guess this is something we&rsquo;re going to try and we&rsquo;ll see how it goes.&rdquo;For his part, Bonk is just happy to be back. Does he like the idea of going to the left? He is open-minded and willing to try, because it is easier for him to make the transition than Spezza, who has been at center since he was called up.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t spoken to (Martin),&rdquo; Bonk said, &ldquo;but if they want me to try it then I&rsquo;m willing to do it. I haven&rsquo;t played wing much, a little bit in the past, but if they want me to play there I&rsquo;ll do it.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Zdeno Chara, D. Since being acquired prior to last season, Chara&rsquo;s role has steadily expanded. Mostly paired with Wade Redden since his arrival, Chara now plays alongside rookie Anton Volchenkov and averages nearly 25 minutes a night.Daniel Alfredsson, RW Signed to a new contract in the off-season, the Senators&rsquo; captain has taken his play to another level. He started the year with a 10-game point streak and by playing more than 21 minutes nightly is always on the ice in key situations.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;That was the best hit I made all year.&rdquo;-Center Jason Spezza after colliding in practice with teammate Radek Bonk.NOTEBOOK Restricted free agent defenseman Karel Rachunek is making another attempt to complete a contract with Ottawa. The two sides still have differences over money, which means they may not be as close to getting a deal done as anticipated. While GM John Muckier has insisted Rachunek won&rsquo;t be moved, many teams have expressed interest in trading for him. &#9632;

f0025-04

Bonk back with Sens, but shifts off center

<div class="byline">-Wayne Fish</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01990/7190709-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Role reversal: Devil Scott Gomez towers over Flyer Keith Primeau.</figcaption></div>Eighteen games into an NHL career might be a little early to tattoo a player with the &ldquo;enigmatic&rdquo; label, but Pavel Brendl is getting close.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02667/7190716-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="218" height="227"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</figcaption></div>The Flyers&rsquo; &ldquo;second-year&rdquo; rookie continues to ride a roller coaster of performances, positions and emotions. One game he might be skating on the first line with Jeremy Roenick and John LeClair, the next he could be sitting in the press box.While both coach Ken Hitchcock and GM Bob Clarke insist the 21-year-old Czech right winger is starting &ldquo;to get it,&rdquo; Brendl&rsquo;s play has been uneven at best.Clarke says he is not giving up on Brendl, nor entertaining the notion of a trade.&ldquo;Not at all,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;I think he has come along miles. I think he&rsquo;s going to be fine. He played on the top line in Carolina (Nov. 5) and we didn&rsquo;t miss a beat. He has improved a lot.&ldquo;They (the coaches) are interested in him. They&rsquo;re interested in making him a good player for us. They&rsquo;re telling him what he has to do to be a good player. And he has been responding.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Kim Johnsson, D. It&rsquo;s Johnsson&rsquo;s all-around game that earns him nearly 25 minutes a night. He plays both power play and penalty kill. Both he and partner Eric Weinrich were among the league plus/minus leaders a month into the season.Keith Primeau, C. Primeau, averaging 18-plus minutes per game, has often been double shifted when another center gets injured. The captain is called upon to take crucial faceoffs and plays on a line with two youngsters-Simon Gagne and Justin Williams-who have boundless energy and can play that extra five or 10 seconds per shift.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Up to US to come up with the very best possible solution to this (league) mandate. We&rsquo;re just doing everything we possibly can to do that.&rdquo;-Chief operating officer Ron Ryan after Philadelphia became the first NHL team to experiment with &ldquo;clear&rdquo; monofilament protective netting, Nov. 7 at First Union Center.NOTEBOOK Left winger John LeClair became the seventh player to achieve 300 goals as a Flyer&hellip; Philadelphia&rsquo;s 9-1-2-0 start was the best since the team posted a 10-1-1 record to begin 1979-80, a year the Flyers went to the Stanley Cup final. &#9632;

f0026-01

Top line or riding pine, Brendl sees it all

<div class="byline">-Bob McManaman</div>With so many right wingers on the roster, it was inevitable that at various points three of them would find themselves playing on the same line.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03529/7190747-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="217" height="226"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHOENIX COYOTES</figcaption></div>The latest edition of the &lsquo;The Republicans&rsquo; might stay together for a while.&ldquo;You can really tell they enjoy playing together and they&rsquo;re getting results so why change things now?&rdquo; said Coyotes coach Bobby Francis of his new third line of Landon Wilson at left wing, Shane Doan in the middle and rookie Branko Radivojevic on the right.All natural right wingers with right-handed shots, the trio steadily gained confidence and consistency after Francis threw them together during an East Coast road trip in late October.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not trying to do too much, just working hard and keeping it simple,&rdquo; said Doan, who was leading the club with six goals after 14 games and might have made management think twice about acquiring another center through a trade. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a lot of fun playing with these guys.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Teppo Numminen, D. The savvy veteran blueliner has been the Coyotes&rsquo; top minute man since the franchise relocated to Phoenix seven years ago. His average is down a tad, to 23:47, but that&rsquo;s mostly because the organization has upgraded its top-six rotation the past few seasons.Daymond Langkow, C. The seven-year pro, averaging more than 22 minutes a night, plays with an edge and is the most responsible forward at both ends of the ice.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;Wayne is no dummy Wayne does not give a job to a friend just because he wants him around. There are no handouts here. You&rsquo;re going to have to work your butt off to work for Wayne Gretzky&hellip; I&rsquo;ve heard all that (nepotism) crap. That&rsquo;s just people being jealous.&rdquo;-New director of player development Eddie Mio, on the friends and former teammates Gretzky has hired since becoming managing partner and part owner of the team.NOTEBOOK An unknown prankster poured purple powder inside all the players&rsquo; gloves. The powder turned into a dye when exposed to moisture and got all over their hands, equipment and the dressing room. &ldquo;Pranks are fine,&rdquo; said coach Bobby Francis, &ldquo;but whoever did this went a little overboard.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0026-03

Starboard shooters all right for Coyotes

<div class="byline">-Joe Starkey</div>A year after posting the second-worst power play percentage in team history, the Pittsburgh Penguins were threatening to post the best percentage since the league began keeping track of the statistic in 1967-68.Through 12 games, the Penguins were clicking at an NHL-best 29.9 per cent (20 for 67). The 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens had the best mark, at 31.9 per cent.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04375/7190778-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="218" height="227"><figcaption class="caption-body">PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</figcaption></div>The biggest switch from last year, when the Penguins posted a 14 per-cent mark, is that Mario Lemieux is healthy. Lemieux changed his approach on the power play, moving frequently from his customary spot along the left wing boards.&ldquo;Teams are starting to defend a little bit better,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So, if you move around, they&rsquo;re not expecting that. They have to change their thinking a little bit.&rdquo;After the Penguins went 0-for-9 in their season-opening, 60 loss to Toronto, coach Rick Kehoe moved Dick Tarnstrom to the left point to replace Michal Rozsival. That move sparked the hot streak.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Dick Tarnstrom, D. The surprising waiver pick-up from the Islanders was leading the Pens in ice time at 25:12 per game. The most skilled of the team&rsquo;s blueliners, he was playing special teams and logging plenty of even-strength time.Alexei Kovalev, RW. With his fluid skating he can handle all the ice time coach Rick Kehoe gives him. He was second on the team at more than 24 minutes per game and logged an impressive 30:06 in a 3-3 tie with Montreal Oct. 22.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to snap. I want to be composed. When I get mad, I do stuff I normally don&rsquo;t do. I put a lot of thought into it this summer and decided that whatever happens, happens, and just go on. No breaking sticks, no chasing referees, nothing like that. It has to be fun. Let it be fun.&rdquo; -Goalie Johan Hedberg, on being in control of his emotions this season.NOTEBOOK Center Martin Straka played his first game of the year Nov. 6 at Florida. He had two assists while skating on the second line with right winger Alexandre Daigle and left winger Jan Hrdina&hellip; The Penguins recorded their first sellout of the season Nov. 2 against Tampa Bay&hellip; The Penguins were working on a buyout on the contract of left winger Vladimir Vujtek. &#9632;

f0026-04

Mario’s movement drives hot power play

<div class="byline">-Derrick Goold</div>Though their winning streak ended at nine, one victory short of the franchise record set in January, the Blues&rsquo; point-grabbing dash to the start of the season had a completely different feel than the 10-win stretch that launched them out of mediocrity last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01939/7190809-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="222" height="222"><figcaption class="caption-body">ST. LOUIS BLUES</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the fact that we haven&rsquo;t backed into any of these wins,&rdquo; said center Doug Weight. &ldquo;Right now we&rsquo;re confident, strong, methodic, systematic; there&rsquo;s great attention to detail and we are not being outworked. We have not been outworked in any game we&rsquo;ve won. And if we outwork our opponent, 90 per cent of the time we&rsquo;re going to win.&rdquo; (See pg. 12 for more on Weight.)At the core of the Blues&rsquo; winning streak-which ended Nov. 7 when Columbus won its first game ever at Savvis Center-was their improvisational power play. Before the loss, the Blues scored at least two power play goals in five consecutive games. The Blues had 18 power play goals during the winning streak; four were game-winners and six erased opponents&rsquo; one-goal leads.&ldquo;Our power play really ignites our offense,&rdquo; said coach Joel Quenneville. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re getting timely production and it gets us back into games.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Al MacInnis, D. Though Quenneville has promised a reduced toll on the 39-year-old defenseman, MacInnis is a stabilizing-and needed-presence on every unit, especially with Chris Pronger out of the lineup.Doug Weight, C. The Blues are constantly seeking ways to keep Weight on the ice, putting him on the point on the power play, and sometimes even giving him the right to call his own shifts.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;Maybe we felt we had a better team (last season) than we actually did. We thought we were so good that we didn&rsquo;t pay enough attention to the details. This year&hellip; we&rsquo;re a bit more desperate.&rdquo;-Defenseman Al MacInnis on the difference between last season&rsquo;s team tone and this season&rsquo;s.NOTEBOOK Left winger Martin Rucinsky scored a goal in his first three games with the Blues, two of which came against Montreal and the New York Rangers, the two teams he played for last season&hellip; While goaltender Tom Barrasso warmed up through his first of two weeks of practice, Fred Brathwaite won five consecutive starts. &#9632;

f0027-01

Power play success key to surging Blues

<div class="byline">-Ross McKeon</div>A year ago, Scott Thornton embarked on an early-season four-game goal-scoring streak, the longest of his career.It was just the start of things to come, as he finished the season with a personal best 26 goals, second-most on the team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02599/7190840-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="218" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">SAN JOSE SHARKS</figcaption></div>And how did he follow that up this year? Six weeks into 2002-03, Thornton was still waiting for his season to begin.Thornton has yet to play one minute, let alone score a goal. The 6-foot-3,215-pound left winger has been reduced to a mere spectator as he rehabilitates the second of two arthroscopic surgeries to his ailing left shoulder in the last six months.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t know how you&rsquo;re going to respond after surgery,&rdquo; Thornton said. &ldquo;I had surgery on my right shoulder the previous year and made sort of a miraculous comeback after that-no pain all year long-it was great.&ldquo;With this one, it just didn&rsquo;t respond in the right way,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard&hellip; I was starting to think I could be a good contributor, an 80-game kind of guy. This is really disappointing.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Mike Rathje, D. Sharks coach Darryl Sutter believes very few players do what Rathje does best-winning one-on-one battles. Now showing an inclination to add offense to his arsenal, Rathje is averaging almost 30 minutes some nights.Owen Nolan, RW. A testament that you don&rsquo;t have to be scoring to be effective, Nolan epitomizes the Shark&rsquo;s straight-ahead style while not forgetting where it all begins-in the defensive zone.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;There&rsquo;s thousands of theories, but theories are for scientists. We&rsquo;re too stupid for that.&rdquo;-Center Mike Ricci, trying to explain the team&rsquo;s slow start.NOTEBOOK Left winger Lynn Loyns scored the first two goals of his career during a 52 win over visiting Los Angeles Nov. 5, just the third NHL game of the 21-year-old&rsquo;s career&hellip; Defenseman Mike Rathje enjoyed the first multi-goal game of his career Nov. 5 when he scored at even strength and on the power play, a new role for the ninth-year NHLer&hellip; The Sharks have a franchise-high five players on the Western Conference all-star ballot. &#9632;

f0027-02

Thornton has set back after career season

<div class="byline">-Damian Cristodero</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04270/7190871-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pavol Demitra, left, has boosted the injury-plagued Blues&rsquo; offense.</figcaption></div>The Lightning came down to earth with a thud the first week of November.Three road games against the Capitals, Penguins and Maple Leafs, resulted in three losses, with each winning goal coming with fewer than four minutes left in the games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03397/7190878-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="218" height="221"><figcaption class="caption-body">TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING</figcaption></div>The streak dropped the Lightning&rsquo;s record to 7-4-2-still the best in team history after 13 games-and came during a stretch in which it played nine of those games and eight of 10 on the road.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re still learning,&rdquo; coach John Tortorella said.&ldquo;Obviously, the road trip set us back a little bit. We&rsquo;re not handling the third periods in the right way.&rdquo;That is quite a switch from how it as at the beginning of the season when, at one point, Tampa Bay had outscored its opponents 18-7 in overtime and the third period.&ldquo;It can&rsquo;t happen,&rdquo; center Brad Richards said of losing late.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not acceptable. To come on the road and lose three, maybe six points, has got to change.&rdquo;MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Dan Boyle, D. He isn&rsquo;t known for his defense, but the offensive spark Boyle has provided has been invaluable. Averaging a team-high 22:35 of ice time, he is a constant on the power play.Martin St-Louis, RW. He can skate, he can finish and as of Nov. 7 he led the Lightning with nine goals and 11 assists in 13 games. St-Louis gets time on the power play and penalty kill and averages 18:33, tops among Tampa forwards.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;If that ever happens, you&rsquo;d better check the skates the devil is wearing because hell will have frozen over.&rdquo;-GM Jay Feaster on the possibility of trading Sheldon Keefe to the Florida Panthers.NOTEBOOK The Lightning were on a 3-for-44 streak on the power play&hellip; In two games in which tough-guy left winger Andre Roy was moved onto a line with center Brad Richards and right winger Martin St-Louis, he had a goal and three assists&hellip; Richards played in his 178th consecutive game Nov. 8, the second-longest streak in Lightning history. Rob Zamuner has the record at 226&hellip; Right winger Ruslan Fedotenko said he was &ldquo;a little upset&rdquo; at being removed from center Vincent Lecavalier&rsquo;s line. &#9632;

f0027-04

Third period troubles cool Bolts’ hot streak

<div class="byline">-Ken Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01979/7190909-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alexander Mogilny is tied for fourth in NHL scoring with 19 points.</figcaption></div>When Maple Leafs&rsquo; coach-GM Pat Quinn first learned Nik Antropov had injured his knee, he didn&rsquo;t know which one it was. But it didn&rsquo;t matter; Quinn was gravely concerned regardless of right or left.When a player has had both knees reconstructed and his career derailed because of it the way Antropov has, you tend to think the worst. That was the case when Antropov went down in a game Nov. 5 and couldn&rsquo;t play in the third period.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02653/7190916-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="217" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</figcaption></div>Needless to say, the Leafs were thrilled and relieved to discover Antropov had suffered only a ligament sprain in his left knee that would keep him out of the lineup for seven to 10 days.After tearing up his right knee in the playoffs two years ago, Antropov was tentative and afraid at the NHL level, then blew out his left knee while playing in the American League for St. John&rsquo;s last season.However, he came to camp determined to win a spot and had been playing a very solid style of game, chipping in with four goals and seven points in 13 games.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Tomas Kaberle, D. Kaberle led all Leafs in ice time by a large margin, logging 25:26 per game. The fact it is almost evenly distributed among even strength, shorthanded and power-play time reflects the fact he is one of the few defensemen Quinn feels comfortable using in all situations.Alexander Mogilny, RW. For as long as anyone can remember, Mats Sundin has always had the most ice time. Mogilny was getting about 20 seconds a game more. Quinn tends to juggle his power play units, but Mogilny is almost always on the No. 1 unit and sees some penalty killing time.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;We&rsquo;re too good individually to be this bad collectively.&rdquo;-Leafs coach-GM Pat Quinn on his team&rsquo;s disappointing 4-7-2 start.NOTEBOOK The Maple Leafs announced they will hold the first 10 days of their training camp in Sweden next season&hellip; Defenseman Petr Svoboda, a second round choice in the 1998 draft and once one of the organization&rsquo;s top prospects, was sent home by St. John&rsquo;s of the American League; the 22-year-old will play in the Czech Republic this season. &#9632;

f0028-01

Another knee injury befalls Antropnv

<div class="byline">-Elliott Pap</div>The Vancouver Canucks truly believe in Swede dreams.The Canucks added a fifth Swedish-born player to their roster Nov. 3 when they signed unrestricted free agent Mats Lindgren, who came to camp-accompanied by a bad back-on a tryout basis. Once he was considered fit enough for action, the Canucks signed him to a one-year deal with a club option.Lindgren has previous tours of duty with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders. The Isles didn&rsquo;t qualify him after he scored just three times in 59 games last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03467/7190947-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="219" height="224"><figcaption class="caption-body">VANCOUVER CANUCKS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I think it was time for a move and I&rsquo;m just glad to be here,&rdquo; said the 28-year-old center. &ldquo;It has been kind of a roller-coaster ride.&rdquo;Canucks GM Brian Burke was pleased to add another depth player to his roster.&ldquo;We think Mats can play any forward position,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;He is smart and I think he would have made our team at camp, but he had the bad back.&rdquo;Markus Naslund, Mattias Ohlund and the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, round out Vancouver&rsquo;s Swedish contingent.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;EdJovanovski, D. The JovoCop is Vancouver&rsquo;s blueline leader, the chief reason being his skating ability He can rush the push offensively and pivot away from on-rushing forecheckers in his own zone.Todd Bertuzzi, RW. The hulking forward seems to need the additional minutes to get his 245-pound frame in high gear. He is often double-shifted as a tactic to wear down an opponent&rsquo;s defense.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;Well, they&rsquo;re from Thunder Bay&hellip; &ldquo;-Right winger Trevor Letowski on whether a contingent from his hometown might have partied a bit after driving six hours to see him play in Minnesota.NOTEBOOK After winning just one of their first seven at home (1-4-2), the Canucks went 4-1-2 in their first seven on the road&hellip;Left winger Daniel Sedin (one goal in 12 games) was a healthy scratch for the Canucks&rsquo; 13th game. It was the second time in three years he has been sat out for poor play. His brother Henrik has never been scratched&hellip; Never noted as a great penalty-killing team, the Canucks were No. 1 in the NHL in October. &#9632;

f0028-03

Team’s latest addition confirms Swede tooth

<div class="byline">-Dave Fay</div>The Washington Capitals have gone through a month of the season with new coach Bruce Cassidy putting his forwards through various line combinations, trying to find units that mesh, players who complement each other.&ldquo;I hope we&rsquo;re done juggling,&rdquo; said Cassidy, adding he still has a habit of tinkering with combinations throughout most games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04319/7190978-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="214" height="220"><figcaption class="caption-body">WASHINGTON CAPITALS</figcaption></div>What the month of juggling has done is let Cassidy view the players in as many different situations as possible so he knows who he can count on.The arrival of center Michael Nylander, who came over after a trade from Chicago, helped with those decisions. That let Cassidy move Dainius Zubrus and Kip Miller back to wing and utilize Glen Metropolit as his utilityman.Zubrus is with Robert Lang and Jaromir Jagr; Nylander centers Peter Bondra and Andreas Salomonsson.Cassidy has put the checking line back together with newcomer Mike Grier joining veterans Steve Konowalchuk and Jeff Halpern.Miller is on the fourth unit, available to move up in an instant. He is with Brian Sutherby and Stephen Peat.MINUTE MUNCHERS&nbsp;Calle Johansson, D. His steady, unflappable performances are solidifying a defense that was anything but unflappable last season when he was out of the lineup with an injury.Jaromir Jagr, RW. Half of his eight goals are game-winners. Example: Jagr&rsquo;s winner Nov. 7 vs. Florida in overtime was a shorthanded breakaway with Valeri Bure hooking him all the way.LOUD & CLEAR &ldquo;My wrist is fine, it&rsquo;s that space between my legs I have to work on.&rdquo;-Goalie Olie Kolzig, returning after spraining a wrist, after allowing only a 5-hole breakaway goal in a 2-1 OT win over Florida.NOTEBOOK When goaltender Olie Kolzig came off the injured reserve, management sent down Sebastien Charpentier to Portland of the American League so he could get more ice time, keeping veteran goalie Craig Billington instead&hellip; The Capitals and veteran defenseman Sylvain Cote were close to a financial settlement,effectively ending his 18-year NHL career. &#9632;

f0028-04

Mixing and matching a habit of Cassidy’s

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0029-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01866/7191009-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0029-01

NHL DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div>His rookie season in the American League was pretty much a waste, but Kyle Wanvig wasn&rsquo;t demoralized.An ankle injury sidelined him for the second half of the season, and when he did play, he didn&rsquo;t score.Yet in a pre-season meeting with Houston Aeros coach Todd McLellan, Wanvig said he was still a believer in his own ability.&ldquo;I know I can score,&rdquo; he told McLellan. &ldquo;I just have to get on a roll.&rdquo;The second-year right winger scored seven goals and 12 points in 10 games, helping the Aeros to an 11-1-0 romp through the first month. That&rsquo;s one more goal and two fewer assists than he had in 34 games a year ago.&ldquo;Pucks are bouncing in off me, pucks are going in all sorts of ways, so I&rsquo;m not complaining,&rdquo; said the second round pick by Minnesota in 2001.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01978/7191040-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="273" height="347"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kyle Wanvig</figcaption></div>A year ago it would have been easy for him to complain. He hobbled through the first three months, wondering why the ankle he sprained over the summer wasn&rsquo;t healing. The answer came after an MRI at Christmas: there was a cracked bone in his ankle.He didn&rsquo;t return until April.&ldquo;It was frustrating because I&rsquo;d never really missed any games in junior,&rdquo; Wanvig said.He&rsquo;s making up for lost time. Playing on a line with center Cory Larose and left winger Jean-Guy Trudel, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Wanvig has been dominant.&ldquo;I just try to provide the size and go to the net and those guys do all the fancy things,&rdquo; Wanvig said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t ask for more; I get to play with a 90-point scorer (Trudel) and the top rookie scorer from last year (Larose).&rdquo; &#9632;

f0030-01

Wanvig making up for miserable season

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div>The only battle produced by Houston&rsquo;s &lsquo;Guaranteed Fight Night&rsquo; was a quarrel with the AHL and a scrap with purists.&ldquo;It was an ill-conceived idea,&rdquo; AHL president Dave Andrews said after cancelling the Nov. 14 promotion at an Aeros game against Milwaukee. &ldquo;It is disrespectful to the game and disrespectful to the players. It suggests gratuitous violence is a big part of the sport and that&rsquo;s just not the case.&rdquo;The Aeros spawned the promotion because Thursday games are a tough sell in Houston, which draws typically one-third of its 5,500 average crowd.<h2>AHL WEST NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02652/7191078-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="242" height="240"></div>&lsquo;Guaranteed Fight Night&rsquo; Dec. 6 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was also nixed by the league.&ldquo;We know how much fans enjoy a good brawl, so we are going to guarantee a fight,&rdquo; the promotion vowed. &ldquo;If there is not a five-minute fighting major given, every fan in attendance will receive a free ticket to the following home game.&rdquo;Houston did the same promotion two years ago in the International League and GM Dave Barr, a former NHLer, thought it would work in the AHL.&ldquo;We have nothing to lose,&rdquo; Barr said. &ldquo;Selling hockey in Houston is different than selling it in Portland and I think people understand that.&rdquo;CATCHING ON A year ago, Steve McCarthy was the only Norfolk Admirals defenseman with a negative plus/minus, and it was an alarming minus-16.Give McCarthy credit for learning. A first round pick of Chicago in 1999, McCarthy is no longer so carefree with the puck. In helping the Admirals to an 8-0-1-2 start, he had one goal and seven points and was a plus-4, fifth best on the team.&ldquo;He had to learn to play defense,&rdquo; said Norfolk coach Trent Yawney. &ldquo;He has good quickness and likes to join the rush, but he was doing it at the most inopportune time. Now he&rsquo;s picking his spots and he has been outstanding.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK The Chicago Wolves weren&rsquo;t playing like defending Calder Cup champs in October, going 0-6-1-1. Rochester&rsquo;s team record for the longest winless streak was broken when the Amerks tied 2-2 at Hamilton, giving them 15 games without a win (0-6-4-2 this season, plus three losses to close 2001-02)&hellip; San Antonio&rsquo;s inaugural home opener drew 8,536, but the Rampage lost 4-2 to Houston&hellip; The Rampage signed defenseman Jamie Rivers.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03449/7191071-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="1312" height="1905"><figcaption class="caption-body">After splitting last season between Bridgeport, Saint John and Florida (NHL), lanky center Nick Smith is helping the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0030-02

Houston admonished for fighting promotion

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04313/7191116-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="337" height="465"><figcaption class="caption-body">Igor Radulov</figcaption></div><h2>VITAL STATISTICS</h2>Hometown: Nizhny Tagil, Rus. Age: 20 Size: 6-0,194<h2>LAST AMATEUR CLUB</h2>Mississauga (OHL)<h2>POSITION</h2>Left winger<h2>2002-03 SEASON</h2>Norfolk Admirals<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05230/7191109-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="397" height="72"></div><h2>NHL AFFILIATION</h2>Chicago Blackhawks<h2>NOTEWORTHY</h2>Drafted 74th overall by Chicago in 2000&hellip; He was the first Eastern European to play for a Don Cherry team with Mississauga in the OHL&hellip;After a great start, Radulov slumped and finished with 33 goals and 63 points in 62 games.<h2>BOTTOM LINE</h2>Radulov has excellent skating and puck skills, but hasn&rsquo;t learned to utilize his teammates. If he&rsquo;s willing to learn and commit himself, he might be ready in two or three years. &#9632;

f0030-04

AHL SCOUTING REPORT

<div class="byline">BY ROB MUELLER</div>With two of the East Coast League&rsquo;s top rookies leading the way, the Toledo Storm is living up to its name, off to a 9-1-1 start under new coach Claude Noel.Goalie Brian Finley, the sixth overall pick in the 1999 draft, is living up to his billing as an NHL prospect after missing last season with a groin injury. Finley won his first four starts and was third in the league with a. 938 save percentage.Diminutive first-year pro Nick Parillo, a 5-foot-9 winger who starred at twice last weekend, it wouldn&rsquo;t have been the same thing for me.&rdquo;Merrimack College, was second in the league in rookie scoring with six goals and 14 points.Toledo&rsquo;s early run is one of the best starts in club history. The 1993-94 Riley Cup champion Storm opened at 9-1-0.<h2>NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06186/7191147-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="198" height="207"></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big deal if you can contribute to a winning team,&rdquo; said Parillo, named rookie of the week in early November. &ldquo;If I got that award and we lostLYNX GM AXED First-year Augusta Lynx GM Derek Bundy was fired with owners citing a 19 per cent attendance drop and the loss of $200,000 in sponsorships among the reasons.Lynx owner Peter Gillespie announced in early November he was looking to sell part of the team to local investors.BROPHY CLEARED The league neither fined nor suspended Wheeling Nailers coach John Brophy for his part in challenging Reading coach David Lohrei to a fight in the arena parkmg lot following an Oct. 27 game.NOTEBOOK Wheeling and Johnstown are bidding to host the 2004 ECHL All-Star Game at Mellon Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins&hellip; Greensboro Generals forwards Chris Bell and Pete Gardiner notched hat tricks in an 8-2 win at Charlotte Nov. 2. Their third goals came eight seconds apart, a club record&hellip;Mike Fitzpatrick resigned as Mississippi Sea Wolves GM. New managing partner Bo McMurphy takes over team operations. &#9632;

f0030-06

Red-hot rookies setting pace for surging Storm

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div>Mike Zigomanis and fast starts always go well together.Coming off a 48-point rookie campaign with the Lowell Lock Monsters, the 21-year-old Zigomanis roared out of the gate again this season. He recorded 13 points in 10 games and was the Lock Monsters&rsquo; top plus-minus skater.&ldquo;For a young guy, he&rsquo;s very poised,&rdquo; said coach Ron Smith. &ldquo;We have him on the point on the power play and he kills penalties sometimes. He&rsquo;s lugging the puck better than he did last year.&ldquo;The thing he has to figure out is how to win battles in the corners to survive&hellip; That&rsquo;s how you have to be in the NHL.&rdquo;Zigomanis, selected 46th overall by Carolina in 2001, is commanding plenty of respect in the early stages of his pro career.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01899/7191178-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="276" height="348"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Zigomanis</figcaption></div>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s no longer a first-year player,&rdquo; said Bruce Boudreau, coach of the rival Manchester Monarchs. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an elite player.&rdquo;Smith said the most impressive thing about his second-year center was his unselfishness.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s seldom a game you don&rsquo;t like him in,&rdquo; Smith said.&ldquo;The thing I liked about him last year was he took care of things defensively. You didn&rsquo;t have to worry about him. I&rsquo;m sure there were guys who got 75 points who forgot about defense. He got 48 points with a good twoway game.&rdquo;And Zigomanis, one of the Hurricanes&rsquo; final training camp cuts, is not without confidence.&ldquo;In the six exhibition games, I think they liked what I was doing,&rdquo; said Zigomanis, who scored no goals and two points with the Canes. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just here to work hard and work on little things in my game.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0031-01

Zigomanis’s two-way play impresses boss

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div>Diminutive Worcester center Jeff Panzer is finding that adjusting to the pro game means adding a defensive element.&ldquo;For me it has always been a size issue,&rdquo; said the 5-foot-7 second-year pro, who scored 26 goals for the IceCats last season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve tried to focus on my defensive play. I&rsquo;ve tried to work on the positioning, so that I&rsquo;m not running around.The former North Dakota Fighting Sioux said he has learned plenty since turning pro.&ldquo;It makes such a difference being in the right place, to be able then to turn around and go right to offense where I can use my speed,&rdquo; Panzer said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s also a more patient game. That was a hard thing for me to adjust to, being patient.&ldquo;In college, it&rsquo;s a run-and-gun game and you fly around and guys are going in every which direction.&rdquo;BACK NORTH The exuberance of Portland Pirates coach Tim Army doesn&rsquo;t stop at Cumberland County Civic Center.<h2>AHL EAST NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02585/7191216-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="241" height="238"></div>Army, 39, is thrilled to be returning to a colder climate and not just because of the American League coaching job. The Providence native promised his sons Derek, 11, and Travis,9, they&rsquo;d have a backyard rink. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve already got the stakes in so we&rsquo;ll be ready when the weather is cold,&rdquo; said Army. &ldquo;This kind of fun just wasn&rsquo;t possible in Anaheim (where he was an assistant for four years) and Washington (where he spent the last five). I told them we&rsquo;d eventually get a rink of our own.&rdquo; ZEBRA DOWN It took five officials to work a game between Saint John and Bridgeport.The crew that started the Nov. 1 game consisted of referee Marc Muylaert and linesmen Mike MacDonnell and Tim Skinner. The trio was trimmed to two when Skinner sustained a broken jaw after being hit by the puck in the first period.AHL supervisor Charlie Banfield came out of the press box to work the lines for the second period and was replaced in the third by local Saint John linesman Chuck McTague.Skinner needed surgery and will be out until January.NOTEBOOK Center Daniel Tkaczuk joined Bridgeport on loan from St. Louis, Nov. 4. He missed October with a broken finger and was on the outs with St. Louis, having been assigned to Peoria of the East Coast League, but refusing to report.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03423/7191209-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="1309" height="1896"><figcaption class="caption-body">Right winger Jame Pollock is in his fourth season with the Worcester IceCats. He has no goals and nine points through 10 games this year.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0031-02

Panzer adapts to pros by focusing on defense

<div class="byline">-Pavel Barta</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04312/7191247-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="478" height="323"></div>Future and former NHLers are among the top performers in Europe. Here are five such players with position, age and NHL rights.&#9633; Yuri Dobryshkin, RW, 23 (Atlanta). Dobryshkin, who plays on the top line for Severstal Cherepovets, shares the Russian league&rsquo;s goal-scoring lead with 10 goals in 18 games.&#9633; Joaquin Gage. G, 29 (free agent). Former Edmonton Oiler Gage ranks among the Swedish league&rsquo;s best goalies, posting a. 928 SP and 2.07 GAA in 17 games with Djurgarden.&#9633; Eero Somervuori, RW, 23 (Tampa Bay). The diminutive winger is the highest scoring domestic player in Finland with nine goals and 17 points in 18 games for Hameenlinna.&#9633; Ralph Intranuovo, LW, 28 (free agent). This goal-scorer, who played 22 NHL games with Edmonton and Toronto, potted seven in 11 games with Linz of the Austrian League.&#9633; Vaclav Pletka, RW, 23 (Philadelphia). The former Flyer farmhand has totaled six goals and 13 points in 13 games with Trinec of the Czech league, after recovering from ankle injury. &#9632;

f0031-04

WORLD watch

<div class="byline">-Brendan Savage</div>The Flint Generals waived Ashlee Langdone after he was hit with a 20-game suspension, matching the longest ban in UHL history other than the five lifetime suspensions. Before the start of the second period of Flint&rsquo;s 7-2 loss to Quad City Oct. 25, Langdone, 23, jumped Quad City&rsquo;s Jesse Rooney, pummeling him while two other fights broke out. Then Langdone twice tried to get at the Quad City bench, the second time after he had already been ejected. In six games with Flint, the right winger had one assist and 67 PIM. &#9632;

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November 22, 2002

UNITED STATES LEAGUE

AMERICAN LEAGUE GOALTENDING STATISTICS & SCOREBOARD

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Enjoying the Wild life