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 8, 2005

The Hockey News November 8, 2005

<div class="byline">BY ANDY BAGGOT</div>One way to measure a prospective coach is to look at the mentors he has had along the way.In the case of Bob Motzko, the first-year coach of St. Cloud State, you look at the list and can&rsquo;t help but be impressed.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04426/8680109-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="277" height="61"><figcaption class="caption-body">WESTERNCOLLEGIATE</figcaption></div>Motzko started as a student assistant coach with the Huskies under the late Herb Brooks. Motzko subsequently worked under George Gwozdecky, architect of defending two-time NCAA champion Denver, and Don Lucia, who led Minnesota to consecutive NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003.Motzko is back at his alma mater in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association after an unusual sequence of events. He was hired as an assistant to Craig Dahl&nbsp;last May. Three months later, Dahl resigned and Motzko was named acting coach. You&rsquo;d be hardpressed to find anyone who thinks Motzko won&rsquo;t get the official blessing from St. Cloud athletic director Morris Kurtz later this fall.&ldquo;I believe I&rsquo;m the right guy for the job,&rdquo; said Motzko to the St. Cloud Times. &ldquo;Hopefully other people will too.&rdquo;Motzko has some rebuilding to do &ndash; the Huskies finished sixth, sixth and ninth the past three years &ndash; but he thinks an NCAA title is a realistic goal.&ldquo;Why limit ourselves?&rdquo; he asked.NHL PROSPECT WATCH Fifteen months after his controversial dismissal from Providence, goaltender Bobby Goepfert&nbsp;has resurfaced as a force at St. Cloud State.Goepfert &ndash; drafted by Pittsburgh 171st overall in 2002 &ndash; has acknowledged he was accused of plagiarizing an English paper and released from his scholarship at Providence. After sitting out a year, as per NCAA rules, Goepfert emerged as the starting goalie for the Huskies.NOTEBOOK A week after standout winger Danny Irmen was lost for at least a month with a broken finger, Minnesota got word that top returning scorer Tyler Hirsch was leaving the Golden Gophers for unspecified personal reasons. &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

Motzko thinks St. Cloud State has right man

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAVID BOCLAIR</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-09141/8678903-1-eng-US/f0024-092.jpg" title="f0024-09" width="267" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">(CHARLES LABERGE/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Nashville played its 500th game in franchise history Oct. 25, and it was a memorable affair.The 5-3 win at home over Chicago extended the Predators&rsquo; season-opening win streak to eight games, which also tied the franchise record for the longest unbeaten streak. Winger Paul Kariya notched his 400th career assist on David Legwand&rsquo;s winning goal in the final minute of the second period. Both streaks ended the following night with a 3-2 overtime loss at Columbus.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-08164/8678910-1-eng-US/f0024-082.jpg" title="f0024-08" width="235" height="208"><figcaption class="caption-body">NASHVILLEPREDATORS</figcaption></div>The Predators also racked up a team-record 95 penalty minutes on the strength of five fighting majors &ndash; including three by Jeremy Stevenson.For a team that led the league in fighting majors in 2003-04 &ndash; but had none in its first seven games &ndash; it provided a reminder that the addition of Kariya and unprecedented success has not sapped Nashville of toughness.NEWCOMER IMPACT Yanic Perreault, a 12-year veteran, came to training camp on a tryout invitation and ultimately signed a contract for about one-fifth of what his last deal with Montreal paid him.Part of Perreault&rsquo;s appeal is he has been the league&rsquo;s best faceoff man the past five seasons.NOTEBOOK Right winger Jordin Tootoo was assigned to Milwaukee (AHL) Oct. 10 to get more playing time. He was ejected 32 seconds into his second contest and earned a three-game suspension. There were no plans to recall him&hellip;Right winger Scott Hartnell played his 300th career game Oct. 26 at Columbus&hellip;Center David Legwand notched his 200th career point with an assist Oct. 25 against Chicago. He is the franchise&rsquo;s first draft pick to reach that mark.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Timonen 24:14D Hamhuis 22:34F Kariya 19:13F Sullivan 19:03F G. Johnson 18:06ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

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NHL TEAM REPORTS

High-powered Preds don’t lack toughness

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011240/8679463-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"></div>Calder-eligible rookies in redSee pg. 38 for transactions, injury reports.Top two players on PP unit play the points. &#9632;

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DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-09" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-09164/8679950-1-eng-US/f0031-092.jpg"></div>Arena Dow Event Center Capacity 5,497 GM Bob Mancini Coach Bob Mancini<h2>4th SEASON IN OHL</h2>NHL DRAFT PICKS Six; ranks 56th of 58 CHL teams. Latest: Tom Pyatt, 107th, NYR, &rsquo;05 Pat McNeill, 118th, Wsh, &rsquo;05 Marek Kvapil, 163rd, TB, &rsquo;05 &#9632;

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SAGINAW SPIRIT

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012023/8677489-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GREAT FACEPhoenix coach Wayne Gretzky shows some fire as he addresses his Coyotes on the bench. Wonder what he&rsquo;s saying to Paul Mara, anyway&hellip;(COVER: EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES CONTENTS: JEFF VINNICK/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Opening Faceoff

<div class="byline">Jason Kay Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021659/8677541-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="331" height="585"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011976/8677534-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="91" height="103"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031351/8677527-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="1312" height="884"><figcaption class="caption-body">NO GOALChicago goalie Nikolai Khabibulin stops Colorado&rsquo;s Marek Svatos during a shootout. (DOUG PENSINGER/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>There&rsquo;s a temptation to treat this NHL season like the cell phone employee in the commercial &ndash; you know, the one who wanders through various wilderness settings, incessantly asking, &ldquo;Can you hear me now?&rdquo;Substitute questions such as &ldquo;How entertaining was the game last night?&rdquo; or &ldquo;Have you noticed slippage in officiating standards?&rdquo; or &ldquo;Do you think the new rules are working?&rdquo; and repeat them relentlessly, and you get a sense of what the buzz is like in hockey circles.Everyone is eager, and most are hopeful, the new NHL will continue to deliver on the potential it has displayed. We&rsquo;re still in the &ldquo;establishing trust&rdquo; phase of the relationship; excited about the future, guarded about the past. Based on the track record, it&rsquo;s in our psyche to analyze and question.So far, the answers have been remarkably positive, with one notable exception: the shootout.About a month into the season, the shootout remains the bad-boy rock star of the new NHL: loved, hated, misunderstood, but in the end, universally magnetic (if even in a train wreck sort of way).We feel it&rsquo;s still too early to draw any conclusions about the tie-breaking theatrics, but that won&rsquo;t stop us from making some sweeping observations (&ldquo;Can you hear me now?&rdquo;).The shootout is a good idea in principle, but hasn&rsquo;t consistently lived up to the hype. We&rsquo;ve witnessed a few entertaining showdowns, but too many have been anti-climactic. They start with an awesome buzz, with fans standing and cheering, but tend to fade too quickly.Through games of Oct. 25, there had been 12 shootouts. Not one extended beyond three shooters per side and only two of the 12 went to the six-pack mark. Too often, the shootouts feel over before they begin. It&rsquo;s like building yourself up for the long, slow kiss good night and getting a peck on the cheek.<h2>MORE SHOOTERS, MORE EXCITEMENT</h2>In addition, the three-shooter format lends ammunition to detractors, whose chief shootout complaint is the tie-breaker&rsquo;s disconnect from the team concept. The fewer the participants, the further removed it becomes from &ldquo;the team.&rdquo; Adding two per side &ndash; up to five shooters from three &ndash; would address the issue. While it may remain a &ldquo;skills&rdquo; competition in the minds of many, at least it&rsquo;s the skills of six of the best players per team on display. That&rsquo;s 30 per cent of the players dressed, or the same number who would be on the ice for a goal at any given moment.We&rsquo;re not suggesting this would immediately quiet the riot among shootout haters. They are mostly a staunch group with passionate arguments. They like what they like and hate what they hate &ndash; for now. Time has a way of smoothing the sharp edges. International soccer fans have gotten used to the penalty kick format to decide major competitions.On the bright side, relatively few games are proceeding to the shootout. The wide-open nature of the games and overtimes, probably coupled with a desire to avoid the shootout, has kept the showdowns to fewer than nine per cent of games through the early going. Our rudimentary math skills tell us if that trend continues, teams on average will compete in about seven shootouts each over the course of the year. By comparison, teams tied, on average, 14 per cent of the time in 2003-04 &ndash; about 11 per team.The good news is two-pronged: more games are being decided before or during overtime; and, the scarcity of shootouts makes each one more special.To make them even more special, we say take it up a couple notches by adding a couple more players. Imagine the added drama &ndash; we can hear it now.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-041100/8677520-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="440" height="235"></div> &#9632;

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Five for shootouts

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05887/8677572-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg"></div><a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>&ldquo;What has been the NHL&rsquo;s biggest surprise this season?&rdquo;Visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> to have your say on the topic of the day &#9632;

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PUCK POLL

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE BROPHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011984/8677641-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GOTCHA!NHL officials are keeping an eye out for players who cheat by taking dives.</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-204/8677648-1-eng-US/f0005-202.jpg" title="f0005-20" width="91" height="103"></div>You&rsquo;ve got to love the new NHL &ndash; more end-to-end action, more scoring chances and more goals.Regular season games haven&rsquo;t been this exciting in years. Still, they aren&rsquo;t perfect. With the crackdown on obstruction, NHL coaches and officials say they&rsquo;re seeing more diving seeping into the game.On the recommendation of the NHL&rsquo;s competition committee, first-time divers are notified by a league letter they have been identified as a diver. The player&rsquo;s GM also receives the letter. Second time offenders are fined $1,000 and third time offenders $2,500. If a player is identified a forth time, he&rsquo;ll be suspended for a game.All players&rsquo; slates are wiped clean in the playoffs, but the fine for a first post-season offense is $5,000 and a second offense draws a suspension. Every game is monitored at the NHL&rsquo;s headquarters in Toronto and players are subject to punishment even if the referee doesn&rsquo;t call them for diving.NHL supervisor of officiating Stephen Walkom sees no reason why players should feel the need to dive. He said referees now make calls on the act, not on the result of the act. Whereas refs previously called a hook on a player when the act caused an opponent to lose the puck, now it is called regardless of the outcome of the play.&ldquo;At training camp our guys went room to room and we explained it is no longer necessary for a player to take himself out of the play by diving or embellishing a play,&rdquo; Walkom said. &ldquo;Our officials are reacting to the act, whether it be a hold or a hook, so you&rsquo;re only hurting your own team by doing it.&rdquo;Philadelphia coach Ken Hitchcock said he has seen players take advantage of the &ldquo;good thing that has been given to them&rdquo; by falling down.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>&ldquo;It concerns me because if (dives) keep happening, it erodes the integrity of the game,&rdquo; Hitchcock said.Hitchcock suggested, &ldquo;If it&rsquo;s even close early in the game, just call the dive and it would end right there.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021417/8677634-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="213" height="343"><figcaption class="caption-body">ERIC STAAL</figcaption></div><h2>PLUS</h2>Best of&nbsp;the Hockey World<h3>NASHVILLE CATS</h3>The upstart Nashville Predators are the NHL&rsquo;s final team to lose a game, going 8-0-0-0 to open the season.<h3>CAN&rsquo;T STAAL ERIC</h3>Super sophomore Eric Staal helps Carolina get off to a great start with six goals and 15 points through nine games.<h3>OK ON THE ISLAND</h3>Often knocked because of his contract, Alexei Yashin opens with six goals and 12 points in nine games.<h2>MINUS</h2>Worst of the Hockey World<h3>HEAD HUNTER</h3>Atlanta&rsquo;s Eric Boulton is slapped with a six-game suspension for elbowing Tampa Bay rookie Paul Ranger in the head.<h3>THAT&rsquo;S FINE WITH THE NHL</h3>Toronto&rsquo;s Pat Quinn and Anaheim&rsquo;s Randy Carlyle are fined for making derogatory comments about officiating.<h3>GET WELL SOON</h3>Columbus&rsquo;s power play (minus injured Rick Nash) ranks 30th after 10 games with just seven goals in 68 opportunities.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03923/8677627-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="255" height="411"><figcaption class="caption-body">ERIC BOULTON (DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Drive to eliminate dives

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04594/8677679-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="901" height="894"></div><h2>16</h2>No. of diving penalties called as part of coincidental minors.<h2>0</h2>No. of diving penalties called without another penalty. &#9632;

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IT TAKES TWO

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05387/8677710-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="187" height="156"></div>&bull; So much for decline of the big markets. As of Oct. 25, three of the top payroll teams from 2003-04 were on top of their divisions: the New York Rangers ($76.4 million pre-CBA), Detroit ($77.8 million) and Toronto ($62.4 million). Small-market Pittsburgh ($23.4 million), Columbus ($34 million) and Edmonton ($33.3 million) were still dredging the bottom of the standings despite the salary cap. Nashville proved the exception to the rule by winning its first seven games with the lowest '03-04 payroll at just under $22 million.&bull; London&rsquo;s David Bolland may be an offensive whiz kid, but his defensive play needs a little work. The OHL Knights veteran had 12 goals and 36 points in just 12 games, but he was a minus-7.&bull; Kudos to TSN (and the NHL for increased access) for capturing a miked Sidney Crosby on the bench predicting that Brad Richards&rsquo; composite stick was broken, and then turning to teammate John LeClair after Richards&rsquo; stick snaps upon receiving a pass: &ldquo;See? What&rsquo;d I tell ya?&rdquo;&bull; Boston&rsquo;s Colton Orr received a mere one second of playing time Oct. 22 against Pittsburgh and got into a fight. Which begs the question, what could the Penguins Andre Roy possibly have done in such a short time to anger Orr? &#9632;

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SNAPSHOTS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-06250/8677762-1-eng-US/f0005-062.jpg" title="f0005-06" width="636" height="809"></div><h2>TORONTO &lsquo;HALL OF FAME&rsquo; GETAWAYS</h2>Great Seats! First Class Hotel! Hall of Fame Passes! FROM JUST $329TORONTO 2005/2006 HOME SCHEDULE<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-07140/8677755-1-eng-US/f0005-072.jpg" title="f0005-07" width="919" height="214"></div><h2>MONTREAL HOCKEY GETAWAYS</h2>Great Seats! First Class Hotel! Fully Customizable! FROM JUST $239MONTREAL 2005/2006 HOME SCHEDULE<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-0875/8677748-1-eng-US/f0005-082.jpg" title="f0005-08" width="1036" height="215"></div><h2>YOUR HOCKEY GETAWAY PACKAGE INCLUDES:</h2>&bull; Preferred Seats to the game(s) of your choice &bull; 3 days/2 nights First Class Accommodations &bull; Hockey Hall of Fame Passes (in Toronto) &bull; All hotel taxes and service charges &bull; Expert Travel and Concierge Services &bull; Fully Customizable: Add Extra Nights, Extra Games, Hotel Upgrades, Seat Upgrades, Extra Cities &bull; Free Breakfast DailySimply pick your game(s), contact us, and we&rsquo;ll take care of everything! CALL 1-800-465-1765 OR VISIT <a href="http://www.roadtrips.com">WWW.ROADTRIPS.COM</a>OFFICIAL TRAVEL PARTNER OF THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME!<h2>THE ULTIMATE IN HOCKEY TRAVEL</h2>Toronto &lsquo;Hall of Fame&rsquo; Getaways/World Juniors Frozen Four/Stanley Cup/Multi-City Group Tours Winter Olympicsxg/Hall of Fame Induction Weekend Hockey Getaways to any game in all 30 NHL Cities<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-0946/8677741-1-eng-US/f0005-092.jpg" title="f0005-09" width="446" height="188"></div>Call or click for your free catalog 1-800-465-1765 / <a href="http://www.roadtrips.com">www.roadtrips.com</a> &#9632;

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HOCKEY GATEWAYS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021438/8677793-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012198/8677800-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="164" height="84"></div>The coach who calls a timeout late in a game with his team down by a goal is an optimist to the (usually bitter) end. If he&rsquo;s honest, he&rsquo;ll admit all that gathering around the dry-erase board, with the assistant coach madly pointing to players and directing the flow of the puck, never amounts to much of anything. Half the time you lose the faceoff and the scribbling is a moot point the instant the puck hits the ice.So hockey is a game in which, aside from special teams, set plays rarely yield dramatic results. Every team has them, but the times they work are vastly outnumbered by the times when, due to a bad pass or a untimely bounce, they never get a chance to unfold.The best coaches can do strategy-wise is to discuss principles, prepare for different situations while leaving the specific play-making to the skills, creativity and read-and-react-ability of his players on the ice. Some coaches do it better than others.And so it goes with the once-dreaded neutral-zone trap. It was a strategy, not a scourge. We say &ldquo;once-dreaded&rdquo; because the trap doesn&rsquo;t come up nearly as often as a topic of conversation. And that&rsquo;s just the way it should be.Turns out, the trap was never the problem with the low-scoring NHL. The problem was the tactics players were allowed to employ while playing it. Finally we can make a distinction between the two.<blockquote class="pullQuote">The trap worked most of the time in recent years because the rulebook didn&rsquo;t. We tend to forget that.</blockquote>Every team still plays the trap at some point in any given game, even in the so-called New NHL. The re-instituted tag-up offside rule has even promoted its use. If a player is caught deep in the offensive zone and has to retreat, his team has no other option than to sit back in the neutral zone in 1-2-2 formation and wait for the play to develop. It&rsquo;s a trap artist&rsquo;s dream.But the trap worked most of the time in recent seasons because the rulebook didn&rsquo;t. We tend to forget that.Defensemen couldn&rsquo;t skate the puck forward because they risked turnovers from all the hooking and harassing from the lead forechecker. Weak-side, non-puck-carrying forwards didn&rsquo;t have any speed for the same reason because they were being grabbed and held up as well. Defensemen didn&rsquo;t have anyone to pass to. It made the chip-off-the-boards, dump-and-chase game the best option.It also made most of us want to stick needles in our eyes.Now that speed is back in the NHL, and the two-line pass has stretched the ice surface that defenders must cover, the effectiveness of the trap has been drastically reduced. Even if the defense drops back to set up the trap earlier, forwards with speed can burst through to wreak havoc on the forecheck.It all proves the NHL rulebook is a wonderful thing, so long as it is taken seriously. &#9632;

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Success of rules proves trap wasn’t the problem

<h2>REVAMPED NHL A REVELATION</h2>I didn&rsquo;t follow the NHL until 1998, and all the complaining about the poor quality of the game has always confused me. To me, hockey was much faster and more intense than baseball or football. I didn&rsquo;t perceive a problem.Now I know what all the fuss was about. The new NHL is unbelievable! The open style takes the game to a new level of excitement.If more Americans saw the new NHL, I&rsquo;d be surprised if the NFL could still sell tickets.Duane Rotz, Hagerstown, Md.<h2>HYPE CAN HURT YOUNG PLAYERS</h2>When reading about 15-year-old John Tavares in the Oct. 25 issue of The Hockey News, I remembered back when a 16-year-old Rico Fata was hyped as &ldquo;The Next One&rdquo;. And I remembered when the Sedin twins were touted as the next big thing, too. And so on.It&rsquo;s fun to speculate, but it puts a great burden on a young man&rsquo;s shoulders. Especially when such speculation, more often than not, proves to be wrong.Jonas Hermansson, Malmo, Sweden<h2>&lsquo;NEW&rsquo; NHL WARMS HEARTS</h2>Watching the new NHL is like going to your 20-year high school reunion and finding your old flame gorgeous, available and still interested in you.Of course, there will still be bitter old fogies who think everyone should be stuck with the same old battleaxe they married. Some will claim you are breaking some law of the cosmos by even thinking of change. May those people all end up broadcasting tractor pulls.The new NHL and I are in love, and that&rsquo;s just groovy, baby.Steve Merrill, Fredericton, N.B.<h2>SHOOTOUTS STILL STINK</h2>This Leafs fan just watched his team beat Boston in a shootout and guess what &ndash; I still hate shootouts.Shootouts are an obscene way to end hard-fought hokey games. They ignore hockey&rsquo;s basic fundamentals and are nothing more than a cheesy gimmick for the sake of entertainment.I want to see a hockey game, not cheap theatrics.Kevin Jeffers, Toronto<h2>SABRES HELPING FANS</h2>Kudos to the Sabres for charging varying ticket prices depending on the opponent. In doing so, they&rsquo;ve allowed families to attend games at a reasonable cost. It&rsquo;s great to see the pros, no matter which team they play for, without paying through the teeth. Nice job, Buffalo.Randy Simpraga, Windsor, Ont.<h2>VISORS VITAL FOR NHLERS</h2>Adam Proteau&rsquo;s story about the visor debate couldn&rsquo;t have been written better. (THN, Oct. 25)Here&rsquo;s a question for NHL owners: if you&rsquo;re willing to invest millions of dollars in your players, isn&rsquo;t it best to protect that investment every way you can?And what will it take for players to be convinced that visors are essential pieces of equipment? Another Bryan Berard incident?C.J. Ramirez, Scarborough, Ont.<h2>LETTER OF THE WEEK</h2>It seems like the latest news regarding the NHL&rsquo;s TV deal with OLN leaves a little egg on the face of the league. (THN, Nov. 1)I have a Dish Network TV package that included OLN until the network substituted hockey programming with a barbeque cooking show. Now OLN has stated it will only provide hockey programming if my provider places its channel in the basic package.If OLN imagined it was going to strong-arm Dish Network, it only needed to contact Viacom and ask about the situation last year when Dish pulled all of the Viacom stations.For those who are having the same problem I am, I suggest you do as I have done: tune in to CSTV and ESPNU to watch NCAA hockey games.So thanks, NHL and OLN, for introducing me to the college hockey game.They play for the love of the sport there.Jim Acebedo, Little Rock, Ark.<h2>Got something to say?</h2>U.S.A.: Letters, The Hockey News, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y., 14240-9947.Canada: Letters, The Hockey News, 25 Sheppard Ave. W., Suite 100, Toronto, Ont., M2N 6S7E-mail: <a href="mailto:aproteau@thehockeynews.com">aproteau@thehockeynews.com</a> or visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a>Include name, hometown, province/state and phone number.Submissions will be edited. &#9632;

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

<div class="byline">Jay Greenberg </div><div class="byline">Columnist</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021331/8677862-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="331" height="554"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-2118/8677869-1-eng-US/f0007-212.jpg" title="f0007-21" width="164" height="84"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011994/8677855-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="1488" height="2250"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANGER ZONEScorers aren&rsquo;t paying the price while travelling in high-traffic areas. (JEFF VINNICK/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Goals and shots are up, but the NHL won&rsquo;t admit the passion is down.Scoring is too easy, like the conclusion this has become a better game in every way.&ldquo;I like the new rules,&rdquo; says Flyers GM Bob Clarke. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like the new interpretations.&ldquo;The tag-up rule, the bigger end zone, the off-side pass has done what the league wanted &ndash; created scoring chances.The neutral zone has opened up to the good pass and goals off the rush again, which is great.&ldquo;But then the league chose to go one stop further and call holding, tripping and hooking so severely, it has taken away the high level of intensity and the confrontational parts of the game.&ldquo;Most players never liked to hit, they had to be challenged by coaches to do it. There were guys so skilled they didn&rsquo;t have to, but the majority did and took the place of players who didn&rsquo;t want to go into the dirty areas and pay that price.Defensemen now can&rsquo;t do anything to make them pay for it.&rdquo;All is forgiven. Defensemen are reduced to pokechecking, clearing rebounds and lugging the puck, a waste of 225 pounds of leverage that is leveraging what the NHL has gained.&ldquo;A cross-check to the upper part of the back, that&rsquo;s not acceptable,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;But a stick placed in the middle of the back to move a forward away is different and not allowing that takes away the ability to establish a territory. The defense can&rsquo;t touch you now all the way to the net.&rdquo;<h2>NHL&rsquo;S NEW DYNAMICS</h2>Screeners can squat. Goals don&rsquo;t mean squat. Numbers are up because with so little contact, nobody is taking down numbers, leaving the only scores to be settled in the shootout. Gary Bettman brags about &ldquo;flashpoints&rdquo; being reduced. But flashpoints, except in the extreme Todd Bertuzzi and Marty McSorley examples, are what has made the game thrive every bit as much as passing, skating and shooting.The power play specialist is becoming more important than the guy who can power his way to the net, who can shovel the puck with one arm while holding off the defenseman with the other, who gets knocked down and gets up and always has been more beloved for that than the guy scoring from the periphery.It was never about the number of goals, more about the amount of action around the goal. Arguably, NHL finances were screwed up enough to bring on a lockout, but even with offense shrinking, attendance wasn&rsquo;t really a problem, which should have made all these great builders of the sport who took it away from you for a year be careful of what they wished for and are now getting: a game where courage has been discounted.&ldquo;For 75 years, it&rsquo;s been a 5-on-5 game,&rdquo; Clarke says. &ldquo;The importance of that has diminished with seven or eight power plays per team. Gritty players aren&rsquo;t getting ice time. Ken Hitchcock tells me Donald Brashear is getting nine minutes a game. (In 2003-04) he had 14.&rdquo;Of course, Brashear&rsquo;s name on a marquee doesn&rsquo;t sell a ticket, but the way guys like him play always has. The Brashears weren&rsquo;t lost in the scoring explosion of the 1980s, when the NHL had its best-ever balance of skill, speed and grit.<h2>SLOW OCTOBER STARTS</h2>Now it is true that passions have generally been lower in October, when the percentage of goals scored on power plays over the past three seasons proved to be 12 per cent higher than for the entire year. Grinders usually take longer to get going, a lot of them didn&rsquo;t play last year, and the unusual circumstance of 25 per-cent turnover of team personnel doesn&rsquo;t do much to re-ignite rivalries, either.Perhaps, too, this crackdown, like the ones of 1995, 1998 and 2002, will be moderated. We hope so, to restore the corners and slot as the passion pits they should be.&ldquo;People from the field are getting back to the league with opinions,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;Then, they will either adjust or not, depends on what they want.&rdquo;Just wish we felt more confident they really know what they want.<h2>DOWN GOES NHL&rsquo;S S.P.</h2>The&nbsp;average save percentage rose from 2000 to &rsquo;04, but is way down in &rsquo;05-06..8972005-06.9112003-04.9102002-03.9092002-01.9052000-01 &#9632;

f0007-02

Too easy to score

<div class="byline">BY MARK BRENDER </div><div class="byline">PHOTOGRAPH BY EZRA SHAW</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012088/8677942-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011900/8677949-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="101" height="96"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021303/8677935-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="3301" height="1050"><figcaption class="caption-body">(CHRIS TROTMAN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>TARRYTOWN,&nbsp;N.Y. &ndash;The New York Rangers hold game-day morning skates this year at their three-year-old training facility in leafy Westchester County, about a 40-minute drive north from midtown Manhattan if traffic co-operates. It&rsquo;s one of the many changes Tom Renney has made in his first full season as coach after taking over from Glen Sather in late February of 2004. Compared to Madison Square Garden, the Tarrytown rink is cold and the media contingent light. About half the team lives in the area; the other half, including 33-year-old bachelor Jaromir Jagr, prefers the bright lights of Manhattan and is left to make the game-day commute. Now that the Rangers are actually winning some games, nobody &ndash; least of all Jagr &ndash; seems to mind.&ldquo;I love it here,&rdquo; says Jaromir Jagr of life in the Big Apple. &ldquo;Love it. It&rsquo;s just me. Can&rsquo;t change.&rdquo;As he lounges in his stall the morning of a mid-October home game against the Atlanta Thrashers, it&rsquo;s easy to see why Jagr might be comfortable as a Ranger, in Tarrytown specifically, and with the team in general. The Rangers have gone out of their way to put their resident superstar in a happy frame of mind.From the hallway entrance to the dressing room, Jagr sits in the near corner. Beside him is an open stall (in all its implied respect), with the next two spots occupied by defenseman Marek Malik and rookie forward roomie Petr Prucha, to whom Jagr offered one of five free bedrooms in his Upper West Side apartment. (Prucha quickly accepted. &ldquo;I was surprised, but I appreciated it,&rdquo; he says.)<blockquote class="pullQuote">Love it. Can&rsquo;t</blockquote>On the other side of Jagr sit the two Martins, Rucinsky and Straka, both of whom Jagr has known for years. Beside Straka is Marcel Hossa, a token Slovak amidst the cadre of Czech mates. A sixth Czech, defenseman Michal Rozsival, sits across the room.&ldquo;There certainly was on (GM Glen Sather&rsquo;s) part some serious consideration made to the Czech contingent being here,&rdquo; Renney says. &ldquo;And it wasn&rsquo;t just to appease Jagr, quite frankly. It was that they&rsquo;re good hockey players. They understand the game without the red line.There&rsquo;s good chemistry there&hellip;And we knew the residual effect to all of that would be that Jaromir would be happy with the circumstances. And that&rsquo;s great. A happy Jaromir will help the New York Rangers be a much better team.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s Just me. change.A happy Jaromir is also proving he can once again be the best player in the world.Jagr insists the new rules have not been a major factor for him. At 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, he says he was always big enough and strong enough to fend off the hangers-on in the corners and make his way to the net. His game was never built on join-the-rush quickness, so it&rsquo;s been more of a change for the smaller, nimbler guys, he says. But even if that&rsquo;s true, when Jagr sets his mind to playing there&rsquo;s still not many small guys who can keep up with him.After 10 games, Jagr was leading the NHL with 10 goals and tied for the league lead with 15 points, and the revitalized Rangers were off to a very respectable 4-3-2-1 start. Nobody would be terribly surprised anymore if, when the season ends next spring, Jagr takes home his sixth career scoring title. That in itself is a bit of a shocker.It would be Jagr&rsquo;s first Art Ross in four years, and it would come after several topsy-turvy seasons that led many to assume Jagr&rsquo;s points would be overshadowed by his pouts for the rest of his career.With eight power play goals &ndash; several of them scored in identical fashion off set-play one-timers from just inside the right point &ndash; Jagr is on an early pace to shatter Tim Kerr&rsquo;s record of 34, set in 1985-86. He is also the best bet in more than a decade to have a shot at 50 goals in 50 games, a mystical standard attained only eight times in NHL history, the last being Brett Hull in 1991-92.Plus, he was leading the NHL with 52 shots on goal, a strong indication he&rsquo;s involved in the play, and already owns one record from the new NHL: the first player to snap a stick during a shootout (second shooter, Oct. 19 vs. Islander Rick DiPietro, no goal). With 547 career goals over 14-plus seasons, he has moved past Stan Mikita into second place among European-born goal-scorers, trailing only Jari Kurri (601).But to hear him tell it, the quest for individual accomplishments is over, gone with the long hair and the Penguins dynasty.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m more about the team than I am about myself,&rdquo; says Jagr when the idea of a scoring title is broached. &ldquo;You know, when you get older, it&rsquo;s kind of like&hellip;&rdquo;He trails off, but you know where he&rsquo;s going with this. It&rsquo;s kind of like you become a two-way coach&rsquo;s dream, the first guy back, the shot-blocker, the unsung mucker in the corners, the do-the-little-things guy, leave the scoring glory for the kids. He will be 34 in February, after all, well into the back nine&hellip;Except there&rsquo;s no way can he pull this one off. He wouldn&rsquo;t be Jaromir Jagr if he could, and he knows it.So no sooner do the words escape from his mouth than they are followed by the Jagr grin. His cheeks grow pudgier, his eyes find a twinkle and grow narrower, and despite the wrinkles in his face he is transformed from the popular Jagr image &ndash; reluctant superstar, sulking, serious, misunderstood Czech, ill at ease speaking in English, his command of the language not good enough for a captain (as if) &ndash; to the Jagr the Rangers have come to know, that of a boyish, immensely likeable goofball.Right, no desire for a scoring title.And he only learned how to use a one-timer because he was taught by Sergei Gonchar two years in Washington. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know how to shoot until then, really,&rdquo; he said recently. Uh huh.People who don&rsquo;t get a chance to see him up close might never get a glimpse of the grin, but Jagr&rsquo;s mischievous side is always lurking under the surface. It comes out when he&rsquo;s happy. In New York, they&rsquo;re seeing it often.&ldquo;I love it here,&rdquo; he says again. &ldquo;Why? I don&rsquo;t know, just the coaches and the players and the whole organization, the trainers, it&rsquo;s just great. They just let you worry about hockey and that&rsquo;s a big change.&rdquo;The team media guys say he&rsquo;s been accommodating I just to every request. While he hasn&rsquo;t yet reached exalted Bobby Holik status among New York beat writers, Jagr is always good for a quote and a quip. (When Holik returned to MSG with the Thrashers, he arranged to go out on the town with the beat guys on his next trip into town, something the homebody Jagr will never do.)<blockquote class="pullQuote">And then I gave up said f---it.</blockquote>&ldquo;If you work hard and play good, they love you. That&rsquo;s New York,&rdquo; Jagr tells the lapping media scrum after a raucous 5-1 win over the Thrashers. Then the grin and the perfectly timed punch line: &ldquo;It can go the other way, too.&rdquo; Much laughter ensues.Behind closed doors, figuring out when Jagr is serious isn&rsquo;t as pressing an issue. He left little doubt of his sincerity during a team meeting on an off-day between the Rangers&rsquo; fourth and fifth games of the season. The Rangers were coming off a 3-2 loss to Washington and were taking stock of their strong points and areas for improvement. Jagr spoke up and told his teammates the third- and fourth-liners on the team were the best he has played with. Ever.For a superstar who rarely plays the rah-rah role, and on a team whose players haven&rsquo;t had clear and defined roles since former coach Colin Campbell left town, they were powerful and inspirational words.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s true. That&rsquo;s the way I feel and they prove it every night,&rdquo; Jagr says. &ldquo;Without the third and fourth line we don&rsquo;t have a chance to go anywhere, especially right now. This is the new hockey and everybody has to play.&rdquo;&ldquo;For him to say that is obviously a big compliment to us,&rdquo; says center Dominic Moore, a prime object of the praise along with Jed Ortmeyer, Blair Betts, Ville Nieminen and Jason Ward. &ldquo;For us, we&rsquo;re just trying to help out any way we can and do our job. But it&rsquo;s nice to be recognized.&rdquo;<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012001/8677928-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="120" height="119"></div>And yet, for all the smiles and sobriquets, this is still Jaromir Jagr. Sublimely talented, powerful like a bull and if history is a guide, moody like an insulted god. He can disappear for a period or two, or long stretches.&ldquo;How do I explain it?&rdquo; he asks. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t take the period off, but you play the same way and it&rsquo;s waiting for your time, you know? You&rsquo;re waiting for your time.&rdquo;Jagr is a thinker, a brooder. He can get wrapped up in his head. When he does, the popular phrase holds true: don&rsquo;t think, it only hurts the team. When curling into open ice or through the slot, he often slaps his stick on the ice as an urgent instruction for a teammate to get him the puck. When they don&rsquo;t, you&rsquo;re left to wonder &ndash; given his reputation &ndash; if Jagr will hold it against them.It&rsquo;s in this light that Jagr is asked to explain how a player long considered the best in the world, as he was in Pittsburgh, can suddenly go belly-up, as he did in Washington. He is still living off the monster contract the Capitals signed him to in the summer of 2001, one that pays him an NHL-high $8.4 million this season and has another three years left at a combined $25 million. So this is, or should be, sensitive territory.Yet Jagr shows no anger or hostility with the line of questioning. It is ancient history, yes, but perhaps he understands his answer is deeply relevant for Rangers fans, so they can judge for themselves, now that he has been reborn as the Jagr of old, if it&rsquo;s likely to happen again.He takes some time before answering.&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s say you were a writer,&rdquo; he finally says, hitting on a near-at-hand analogy. &ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t give you this,&rdquo; &ndash; he points to a tape recorder &ndash; &ldquo;if I don&rsquo;t give you a computer, if I don&rsquo;t have information, if I make it tough for you to get information, you know what I mean? And your boss would want you to write the same article in the same time. It would be impossible, wouldn&rsquo;t it? That&rsquo;s how I felt.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t have the same freedom, you couldn&rsquo;t play the way you wanted, the way I was used to. They didn&rsquo;t let you play the way you wanted, of course you&rsquo;re not going to play the same. I was so used to something and I didn&rsquo;t get it, and I was trying to fight for it, and then I gave up. I just said f---it. And then I didn&rsquo;t have a chance.&rdquo;After a horrible start to 2003-04, the Caps thought Jagr played relatively well from mid-November of 2003 until his trade to the Rangers in January of 2004. But Jagr quit in Washington, he says so himself. So the short answer is yeah, it can happen again.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011815/8677921-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="1526" height="1077"><figcaption class="caption-body">PLAYING KEEP AWAYJaromir Jagr has both the speed and strength to keep opposing checkers at bay in the offensive zone. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Just don&rsquo;t count on it happening this year.It&rsquo;s a combination of things that have brought Jagr on board. He rediscovered his confidence with strong play in Russia and at home in the Czech Republic during the lockout. In North America, Jagr has been impressed by how much opportunity to provide feedback Renney gives players during meetings. But along with that has come a long-lost Ranger stranger called&hellip;accountability.&ldquo;Glen, he was too nice when he was coaching,&rdquo; Jagr says. &ldquo;I think players, they took advantage of that. It wasn&rsquo;t as professional as it should be&hellip;And I think the discipline is here now and that&rsquo;s the biggest difference.&rdquo;Renney likes to say the Rangers need to work hard enough so that anyone who falls out of line will be conspicuous by the gap created between himself and his peers.&ldquo;What we&rsquo;ve tried to do is have them understand that we&rsquo;re in deep need of a culture change,&rdquo; Renney says. &ldquo;We have a reputation over here that hasn&rsquo;t been anything to be too proud of for the last couple years, and they&rsquo;re the team that has the opportunity to do something about it.&rdquo;One Eastern Conference coach said the Rangers are having success because their scorers are scoring and their workers are working. It only takes one visit to MSG and one work-inspired standing ovation to see how starved for tenacity their fans have become, even if little is accomplished on the scoreboard.And irony of ironies, the work ethic and hope for a better Rangers team has been made possible, Jagr admits, because of the salary cap. Because of the cap, the Rangers have a structure, a depth chart whose ranking makes sense. When the third- and fourth-liners have to work to earn their keep, it rubs off on everyone else. It&rsquo;s a better team without all the stars &ndash; or at least the star-level salaries.&ldquo;I think so,&rdquo; Jagr says, quickly knocking on the wood bench. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t make sense when you think about it, but I think so.&rdquo;The formula for success: harder work, more Czechs, smaller checks. Who knew?Oh, and a couple Swedes. The Rangers wouldn&rsquo;t be anywhere without the outstanding play of rookie goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who has assumed the No. 1 job from Kevin Weekes, even if Renney refuses to acknowledge it publicly. The other Swede is center Michael Nylander, whose vision, canny puck skills and ability to maneuver in tight spaces mesh perfectly with Jagr&rsquo;s quick shot and power game.Ranger fans might have taken it as an omen of changing fortunes in New York when, during the third period of the Atlanta game, the main video board at MSG flashed a score from Continental Airlines Arena across the Hudson: Carolina 5, New Jersey 1. A loud cheer ensued. The Rangers were leading the Thrashers 5-1 at the same time.But will they have the staying power? Jagr insists, for him personally, it won&rsquo;t be a problem. Through his entire career, he says, he has gotten stronger as a game progresses. He feels fresher at the end of the third period than the end of the first. When weight training, he can always lift more at the end of a session than at the beginning.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just the way my body works,&rdquo; he says.And to hear Jagr tell it, he&rsquo;s bound to do the same as the season goes on as well. It has to do with a swollen pinky finger on his left hand. He holds it out for inspection.True enough, it&rsquo;s puffy and oblong-shaped, almost like an egg. He injured it during the World Championship last spring. It was immobilized for four months. It hampered his ability over the summer to train or do much at all to keep in shape.It is suggested he must feel like he&rsquo;s playing catch-up. Jagr takes the bait and the game is on.&ldquo;Oh yeah, I&rsquo;m trying to,&rdquo; he says.So Jaromir Jagr isn&rsquo;t yet 100 per cent, is that what you&rsquo;re saying?&ldquo;No way. I&rsquo;m trying to survive somehow.&rdquo;Man, you&rsquo;re doing pretty well for a guy not in shape. When do you think you&rsquo;ll be back up to full speed?&ldquo;Hopefully soon.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s that Jagr grin. It&rsquo;s back again.<h2>POWER PLAYERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03791/8677914-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="1000" height="1299"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Jaromir Jagr was on pace to set a new mark for most power play goals in a season with eight in his first 10 games for the surprisingly good New York Rangers. Here&rsquo;s the top five:1. TIM KERR, PHI, &rsquo;85-86 342. DAVE ANDREYCHUK, BUF/TOR &rsquo;92-93 323. JOE NIEUWENDYK, CGY, &rsquo;87-88 31&ndash; MARIO LEMIEUX, PIT, &rsquo;88-89 31&ndash; MARIO LEMIEUX, PIT, &rsquo;95-96 31<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021569/8677907-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="1090" height="1743"></div><h2>JAGR&rsquo;S NEW YORK</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031020/8677900-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="2413" height="1944"><figcaption class="caption-body">(ALL GETTY IMAGES; JAGR: EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0008-01

COVER STORY

A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

<div class="byline">BY ALAN HAHN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021495/8677987-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="600" height="1013"><figcaption class="caption-body">NUMBERS DIVEOLN drew more viewers over its first seven games than ESPN2 in 2003-04, but it paled in comparison to ESPN.</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011978/8677994-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="91" height="103"></div>The OLN network introduced itself to the NHL viewership in the U.S. with the slogan, &ldquo;We Believe in Hockey.&rdquo;It is as much an acknowledgement to the anticipated re-growth of the game as it is a shot at the sport&rsquo;s previous U.S. national cable network, ESPN, which, as it turns out, didn&rsquo;t believe in hockey. At least not at the price the NHL was charging.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>*Local Broadcasts in effect. ESPN/ESPN2 in households; OLN in total viewer impressionsAnother belief that OLN has revealed in its maiden voyage into major pro sports coverage is that hockey fans shouldn&rsquo;t have to pay extra to see it. And if it means self-inflicting wounds, whether it be blacking out its NHL coverage to Cablevision subscribers in the biggest market in the world, New York, or being dumped by one of the largest U.S. satellite providers, DISH Network, so be it.&ldquo;We believe hockey is a major sport that should be widely distributed,&rdquo; said OLN spokeswoman Amy Phillips.<h2>CLASH WITH CABLEVISION</h2>OLN is opposed to Long Island-based Cablevision&rsquo;s decision to keep the channel in a sports tier package called &ldquo;iO Sports Pak,&rdquo; which includes nine other sports-based channels and costs an extra $4.95 per month. With the three-year, $207.5-million NHL deal, OLN wants Cablevision to move it into a tier that reaches far more customers without the extra charge.Cablevision owns the local broadcast rights to the Rangers, Islanders and Devils and has two networks, MSG Network and Fox Sports New York, that combine to show more than 120 regular season games. The channels are available on extended basic cable.OLN doesn&rsquo;t have the contractual right to make demands regarding channel location or pricing. What it can do, and has done, is black out the NHL broadcasts because of a provision in the NHL contract that commands a 40 per-cent distribution threshold, which Cablevision doesn&rsquo;t come close to reaching. Of its three million customers in the New York metropolitan area, only 22,000 had signed up for the &ldquo;iO Sports Pak&rdquo; and, therefore, were able to receive OLN.DISH Network had far more customers sign up for OLN, but it still amounted to only 30 per cent of its 11.4-million customer base. Therefore, OLN blacked out NHL games on DISH Network, which, in retaliation, pulled OLN from its service.&ldquo;We were surprised and disappointed that DISH unilaterally chose to stop providing OLN to its customers without warning, and denied fans access great sports coverage,&rdquo; said OLN in a released statement. &ldquo;Fortunately, those customers do have the ability to explore other cable and satellite options that carry OLN.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031040/8677980-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="1454" height="1440"><figcaption class="caption-body">GONE FISHIN&rsquo;Some fans got reeled in when they tuned in to see a Panthers-Rangers game and got a fishing show instead. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>This is true. Actually, OLN is distributed on basic cable in 90 per cent of the cable providers all around the U.S., including Time Warner of New York, which feeds a small population of New Yorkers. DirecTV also carries OLN without trouble.Still, the NHL didn&rsquo;t get two weeks into its relationship with OLN before controversy struck, as a majority of fans in the critical New York market &ndash; those who shelled out the extra $4.95 to get OLN &ndash; sat before their television sets on Oct. 17 to see the New York Rangers host the Florida Panthers on OLN. Instead, they saw a fishing show.A local team blacked out in its own market for a home game? What is this, Chicago?The NHL has taken heat in the local media for sitting on the fence during this fight, which happens to include two team owners, OLN&rsquo;s parent company, Comcast, owns the Philadelphia Flyers, while Cablevision owns the New York Rangers. If you&rsquo;re wondering why commissioner Gary Bettman hasn&rsquo;t ordered Ed Snider and James Dolan into the 47th floor boardroom at 1251 Avenue of the Americas for the good of the game, let us reassure you he has. But this isn&rsquo;t about hockey as much as it is about dollars.Contractually, the NHL doesn&rsquo;t have a say in this either way, though it&rsquo;s not hard to see which side the league is on.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re supportive of the objective of maximizing the distribution of NHL hockey on OLN,&rdquo; said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who seemed confident that it was a situation soon headed for a resolution.<h2>DIFFERENCE IN QUALITY</h2>But whenever the New York market is settled, not to mention a return to DISH Network, the NHL&rsquo;s relaunch isn&rsquo;t getting much of a bang from OLN as it would have even with a scaled-back presence on ESPN (which reaches 90 million U.S. homes). ESPN2 reaches 89 million homes in the U.S., while OLN potentially reaches 65 million.The OLN broadcast is, at least, familiar, because the talent is made up of well-known U.S. hockey faces including Mike Emrick, John Davidson and Bill Clement.But there is little doubt that the OLN budget spent on studio and game-night production is far less than what ESPN had done in the past &ndash; and it shows. OLN says its NHL broadcast is still in a development stage, considering it only had five weeks from the day the deal was signed to opening night to get ready. &#9632;

f0014-02

NHL on OLN ices viewers

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021374/8678032-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="813" height="1564"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACK JOHNSONTHIRD OVERALL, CAROLINA</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011756/8678039-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="94" height="94"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Call them the Elite Eight. They&rsquo;re the young studs who were all drafted in the first round of the 2005 NHL entry draft, and are all playing NCAA hockey this year.Actually, you could call them the Dirty Dozen if you include: Colorado Avalanche top pick Ryan Stoa (drafted in the second round) and his Minnesota teammates Jeff Frazee (second round, New Jersey) and projected 2006 top pick Phil Kessel, as well as North Dakota rookie forward sensation Jonathan Toews, another top 2006 prospect.Of the eight 2005 first-rounders, Michigan Jack Johnson is considered the best prospect. Carolina&rsquo;s top pick (third overall) and a standout with the U.S. national team development program, Johnson is a defenseman with a wide arsenal of skills.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s like a power forward playing defense,&rdquo; said Michigan coach Red Berenson. &ldquo;He plays the whole game.&rdquo;Johnson, a life-long Wolverines fan, turned down the Canes&rsquo; offer to go pro immediately, in favor of a season in Ann Arbor, Mich.&ldquo;I just didn&rsquo;t think I was ready,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;I made up my mind that I wanted to play college hockey and this is where I wanted to play.&rdquo;Johnson, the youngest player ever to commit to Michigan at age 15, had been on Berenson&rsquo;s radar for quite some time.&ldquo;He used to come to our camps in the summer,&rdquo; Berenson said. &ldquo;We watched Jack grow up. You could just see him turning the corner and I&rsquo;ve been looking forward to (this season).&rdquo;Johnson, named CCHA rookie of the week after notching three assists and scoring the winning goal against Quinnipiac Oct. 8, is joined by another first round freshman, Edmonton top pick Andrew Cogliano (25th overall).Hailing from Woodbridge, Ont., Cogliano, a center, chose college over junior because of academics and the school atmosphere. A speedster with smarts, Berenson likes where Cogliano&rsquo;s head is at.&ldquo;He has a good attitude about school, he&rsquo;s a serious student,&rdquo; Berenson said.On the ice, Cogliano is just as sharp. &ldquo;You could see he had a special gift in his skating, speed and playmaking abilities,&rdquo; the coach added.<h2>THREE&rsquo;S COMPANY</h2>The North Dakota Fighting Sioux boast a trio of 2005 first round freshmen to go along with phenom Toews: defenseman Brian Lee (Ottawa, ninth); center T.J. Oshie (St. Louis, 24th), and towering 6-foot-7 defenseman Joe Finley (Washington, 27th). They&rsquo;ll all do battle with high-pick froshers such as Jack Skille of Wisconsin (Chicago, seventh) and Minnesota-Duluth&rsquo;s Matt Niskanen (Dallas, 28th) in a very strong WCHA.Washington GM George McPhee hopes Finley, along with Cornell sophomore Sasha Pokulok &ndash; another Caps first-rounder (14th) last June &ndash; will one day be patrolling Washington&rsquo;s blueline.&ldquo;Our guys actually recommended drafting (Pokulok) last year,&rdquo; McPhee said. &ldquo;He has tremendous poise with the puck and in today&rsquo;s NHL, defensemen need to handle the puck and make a lot of decisions.&rdquo;Pokulok, a Montreal native, has enjoyed his college career so far, and was named to the ECAC&rsquo;s all-rookie team last season.&ldquo;I had a lot of confidence from the coach and that helped me get off to a great start,&rdquo; said Pokulok, who is mature beyond his 19 years.His advice for the Fab Freshmen?&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be afraid to make mistakes,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Just play your game like you would if you were a veteran.&rdquo;Perhaps the most intriguing entry to the NCAA this year is Wisconsin-born Kessel, who, as the probable 2006 first overall pick, could also end up in Washington. Yet another acolyte from the U.S. development team, Kessel likes the system that has evolved for young Americans.&ldquo;Last year, we played some college teams, so it&rsquo;s not too hard to adjust,&rdquo; Kessel said, adding the NCAA should no longer be considered a weak sister to Canadian major junior. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great league and it&rsquo;s up there with the Canadian Hockey League.&rdquo;While Kessel maintains he would like to play out his college eligibility, he remains aloof on his future.&ldquo;I guess you have to take that opportunity if it comes, but I planned on playing four years of college hockey.&rdquo;And while the Frozen Four doesn&rsquo;t inspire the same madness as NCAA basketball&rsquo;s Final Four, or college football&rsquo;s bowl games, there is no doubt the waves of talent coming out of the college ranks are helping the NCAA&rsquo;s reputation.&ldquo;You&rsquo;re going to have great players in both (NCAA and CHL),&rdquo; said New Jersey Devils right winger Brian Gionta. &ldquo;It just depends on what you needed to develop as a player.&rdquo;<h2>SCHOOL&rsquo;S IN</h2>Gionta, a former Boston College star, has seen the bias toward major junior disappear over the years. &ldquo;College is now just as viable as junior,&rdquo; he said.Ottawa sniper Dany Heatley grew up in Calgary and his father went to school in the U.S., so his decision to play NCAA hockey at Wisconsin was an informed one. &ldquo;I was educated on both,&rdquo; Heatley said. And while the Sens star noted both the CHL and NCAA will have their heavy draft years, he believes this year&rsquo;s NCAA freshmen should focus on this season.&ldquo;Enjoy the experience while you can,&rdquo; Heatley said. &ldquo;It goes by quickly.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031037/8678025-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="700" height="684"><figcaption class="caption-body">FIRST ROUNDHere are the number of NCAA-committed players selected in the first round in recent NHL entry drafts. (BRIAN BAHR/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0016-02

From NCAA to NHL

<div class="byline">Colin Mochrie </div><div class="byline">Guest Columnist</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021264/8678084-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="331" height="553"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011640/8678091-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="91" height="103"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>The following story appears in The Hockey News&rsquo;s latest specialty publication, &ldquo;The Lighter Side of Hockey.&rdquo; It is available at newsstand and via <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>.I have been disgruntled with hockey of late. In fact, I have a hard time recalling the last time I was grunt-led. I feared for the future of the greatest game on earth.With the constant obstruction, hooking, New Jersey Devils, etc., the game had become as slow as Paris Hilton doing a TV Guide crossword. As a man who constantly tries to sell the game to non-fans (a NASCAR enthusiast friend told me hockey was boring &ndash; this from a guy who watches cars drive in circles for hours!) I have found it hard to muster up any kind of passion, especially after the lockout.But now that the lockout is over and rule changes have been implemented, I&rsquo;m feeling quite optimistic hockey will rise again. I even have historical precedence for thinking so.I refer, of course, to the gladiator strike of 38 B.C. During the height of the Roman Games, the gladiators went on strike asking for more money, fewer beheadings and shorter post-battle interviews. Immediately, the fans were against the warriors. Mainly because Caligula, who was in charge, was nuts and was ruthless in dealing with insurrections (and he wasn&rsquo;t even a New York lawyer).The strike was settled quickly and in an effort to bring back patrons, rule changes were implemented. There was a salary cap of four drachmas a year (which, allowing for inflation, is the same as the average Bruin player&rsquo;s salary). In previous years, some lions were dyed red in an effort to make them look more ferocious. Unfortunately, the dye would make the jungle cats groggy and lethargic, slowing up the eventual carnage. After the strike, they got rid of the red lions to speed up the Games.With rules like these and some equipment changes (gladiators were allowed to curve their spears for extra throwing speed), the Games surpassed their former glory. Well, until the Roman Empire fell, then the Games stopped and gladiators went to Sweden to find work.The parallels to the recent NHL situation are amazing, so why not take a page from the Romans&rsquo; playbook and go for it? For example:1. Tie games have been abolished. Shootouts are exciting, yes, but how about this? The overtime starts with 4-on-4, but one of the four has to be the team&rsquo;s GM. The excitement of overtime hockey is now compounded by the fact a player could now be creamed by a teammate he screwed in contract negotiations. Now that&rsquo;s overtime tension!2. Each team should be forced to put two monkeys in the lineup. I don&rsquo;t know why, but any venture that includes monkeys dressed as humans ends up being wildly successful.3. Fining players for diving, or suspending them for starting a fight in the last five minutes of a game is all well and good, but really, is it a deterrent? The &ldquo;fine&rdquo; is usually a pittance to those players and a suspension is nothing more than a little holiday. I say we get ruthless. What will stop these wayward rascals? Homework! Have repeat offenders write a 5,000-word essay on what they did and why it was wrong. Then the essay is to be read aloud during the intermission. I guarantee these incidents will stop.4. For chronic hookers and obstructionists, a more horrific fate. Since they slow the game down to a crawl, I believe in an eye for an eye. Instead of a minor penalty, make the minutes crawl by for them by forcing them to perform as the team mascot for the remainder of the game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04628/8678077-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="364" height="485"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03922/8678070-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="1068" height="1359"></div>Have them out among the crowd starting the wave, throwing out promotional t-shirts, etc. As someone who has supplemented their income by dressing as a rooster and handing out flyers for a fast-food chicken place, I can assure you that time passes slowly, giving you ample opportunity to ponder &ldquo;What have I done to deserve this?&rdquo;5. The shrinking of goalie equipment is a good idea, but it doesn&rsquo;t go far enough. When I was a kid, those of us who couldn&rsquo;t afford shin guards would lace up Eaton&rsquo;s catalogs. Make NHL goalies do the same, but with Victoria&rsquo;s Secret catalogs. Smaller pads will help the game. Plus, it adds a little sex appeal.These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. Others include flaming crossbars; hitting the losing coach in the face with a coconut cream pie; and, a conditional bye into the Stanley Cup final for the Boston Bruins (what can I tell you, I&rsquo;m a fan). Of course, I don&rsquo;t expect all these rules to be passed immediately. Then again, I didn&rsquo;t expect Tampa Bay to win the Stanley Cup so soon, either.&ndash; Colin Mochrie starred in Whose Line Is It Anyway?; more info on his whereabouts can be found at <a href="http://www.colinmochrie.com">www.colinmochrie.com</a>. &#9632;

f0018-02

Monkey Business?

<div class="byline">BY NATHAN WHITE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021139/8678122-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="256" height="413"><figcaption class="caption-body">SEBASTIEN SAVAGE</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011501/8678129-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="100" height="143"></div>Sebastien Savage&rsquo;s hockey career came to an end and the direction of his life changed in the blink of an eye.The 24-year-old Moncton Blue Eagles right winger was pursuing a puck in an Oct. 22 home game against the Acadia Axemen when he and an Acadia defenseman lost their balance. Savage fell head-first into the boards and laid motionless, silencing everyone at the J.-Louis Levesque Arena.&ldquo;It was gut-wrenching as soon as you saw it,&rdquo; said Acadia coach Darren Burns. &ldquo;You had that feeling in the pit of your stomach that it wasn&rsquo;t good.&rdquo;Savage maintained consciousness, but his upper and lower extremities were paralyzed. He was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a major fracture of the fifth cervical vertebra with displacement.Dr. Daniel de Yturralde, medical director of the university&rsquo;s Sports Medical Clinic, said the spinal cord damage was severe. &ldquo;You never say never,&rdquo; said de Yturralde. &ldquo;But the odds of anything coming back are slight.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been doing sports medicine for 30 years and it&rsquo;s the worst I&rsquo;ve seen. All you can really do is pray.&rdquo;Moncton coach Bob Mongrain never expected to face a situation like this when he joined the Atlantic University Sport champions before this season.&ldquo;In 30 years in hockey, I&rsquo;ve seen a lot, heard a lot, done a lot of things,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is definitely the toughest.&rdquo;Savage was known as a character player, a hard worker on the ice and a jovial personality in the dressing room.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the kind of guy who&rsquo;s a friend to everybody on the team,&rdquo; said Acadia center Matthew Albiani, who played with Savage on the 2000-01 Ottawa 67&rsquo;s team that won the Ontario League championship. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s well-respected and likes to joke around. It&rsquo;s hard to see that happen to someone like that.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Moncton postponed its next game and Mongrain said a team of psychologists was working with the players. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to make sense of it all and trying to keep going,&rdquo; he said.The team was back in action on a weekend road trip to Acadia. Mongrain said getting back into competition is part of the healing process.&ldquo;(Savage) was such a competitor, everybody&rsquo;s going to have to fill his skates,&rdquo; Mongrain said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure there&rsquo;s going to be ups and downs, but Sebastien will always be present.&rdquo;Savage&rsquo;s parents Sylvie and Sylvain, his older sister Sophie and his twin brother Stephane expressed their gratitude for the words of encouragement and support they&rsquo;ve received from across Canada. &#9632;

f0019-02

University player paralyzed

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div>If there was any doubt that Russia and Canada compete in every aspect of the hockey world, the Russians quashed it with the release of their preliminary Olympic roster.Canada announced a preliminary list of 81 NHLers Oct. 19. Four days later, the Russians shot back with a Tolstoy-worthy tome of their own, unveiling a list of 76 players Oct. 23.The lineup is a mixture of NHLers and Russian Super League stars, featuring no less than seven goalies, 27 defenseman and 42 forwards.NHLers Nikolai Khabibulin, Evgeni Nabokov and Ilya Bryzgalov are in line for the netminding duties, while Alexei Zhitnik, Sergei Zubov and Oleg Tverdovsky are featured on defense.Up front, the Russians will have their pick of Pavel Datysuk, Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Perezhogin, as well as perennial favorites such as Sergei Fedorov, Alexei Yashin. There&rsquo;s also rising star Alexander Ovechkin.The list also includes Evgeni Malkin, who spurned Pittsburgh in favor of his home league. Malkin has burned up the league this season, posting nine goals and 20 points in 18 games.Coach Vladimir Krikunov and GM Igor Tuzik will attend six NHL games in five U.S. cities Nov. 5-15 in order to evaluate the NHLers on the docket. &#9632;

Russia narrows field to 76

<h2>COACHES FINED FOR CRITICAL WORDS</h2>Not liking the new NHL and a willingness to spout off on the record will cost employees of NHL teams, as Toronto coach Pat Quinn and Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle found out. Each was fined &ndash; $10,000, according to some published reports &ndash; for comments criticizing the new NHL and its officials. After a 3-2 loss to Detroit in which the Wings were 3-for-8 on the power play and the Ducks 1-for-4, Anaheim&rsquo;s Carlyle said: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand how we&rsquo;re that bad. I guess the Detroit Red Wings get those calls in their building.&rdquo; Quinn said: &ldquo;In spite of everybody saying, &lsquo;Oh, I love the new game.&rsquo; I don&rsquo;t love the new game. I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s hockey. It&rsquo;s special teams situations and we&rsquo;ve got gimmicks (shootouts) to decide games. So far, we&rsquo;ve won our games on special teams and we&rsquo;ve lost our games on special teams. Five-on-5 is like the dodo bird.&rdquo;<h2>STEPHENVILLE HOSTS HOCKEY DAY</h2>Stephenville, Nfld., steps into the spotlight as the host location for CBC&rsquo;s sixth annual Hockey Day In Canada. Beginning at noon (ET) Jan. 7, Ron MacLean will host a 13.5-hour hockey broadcast from the Stephenville Dome. Included are three NHL games and a variety of features and vignettes from across Canada. The all-Canadian tripleheader starts with Ottawa at Montreal at 2 p.m., followed by Toronto at Edmonton at 7 p.m. and Vancouver at Calgary at 10 p.m.<h2>POND HOCKEY EXTRAVAGANZA</h2>The Golden Shovel will be up for grabs when the puck hits the pond in Minnesota. Phil Housley, the NHL&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer among American-born players, and Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty are two of the many high-profile hockey enthusiasts involved in the inaugural U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, slated for Jan. 20-22, 2006, in Lake Calhoun, Minn. The event will feature 96 teams of men and women playing 4-on-4 hockey in pursuit of the Golden Shovel trophy. A portion of the proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Herb Brooks Foundation and DinoMights Inner-city youth hockey.<h2>O&rsquo;HANDLEY LEADS U.S. INTO VIKING CUP</h2>P.K. O&rsquo;Handley is going to try his hand at leading the United States to a Viking Cup victory. USA Hockey appointed O&rsquo;Handley as coach of the U.S. junior select team that will compete at the tournament in Camrose, Alta., starting Dec. 26. O&rsquo;Handley, who coaches the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States League, will be flanked by assistants Al Bloomer and Bob Crawford. USA Hockey also released the names of 42 players invited to the team&rsquo;s Oct. 31 evaluation camp for the Viking Cup. Among the invitees are forwards Kyle Okposo and James Marcou, who competed for the U.S. team at the Under-18 Junior World Cup this August. &#9632;

HOCKEY WORLD IN BRIEF

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011402/8678208-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIRO SATANNEW YORK ISLANDERS</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-07220/8678215-1-eng-US/f0020-072.jpg" title="f0020-07" width="91" height="103"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div>It&rsquo;s more than just his last name that has bedeviled opponents: Miroslav Satan has also been clutch on the power play throughout his career.Shuffling out of Buffalo in the off-season in favor of Long Island, Satan is now in the thick of the New York Three rivalry, sniping for the Islanders as they renew their hostilities with the Rangers and &ndash; wait for it &ndash; the Devils. But the change of scenery hasn&rsquo;t bothered Satan; he&rsquo;s still one of the NHL leaders in power play goals, tied for second with four through 10 games. Of course, power play goals are up everywhere this season, with some teams making giant strides from the previous campaign.NEWCOMER IMPACT The NHL team stories look at which off-season acquisitions or fresh faces from the farm have made their mark in their new environments.ICE TIME This week&rsquo;s Spotlight Boxes pay tribute to the Minutemen; the players who log the most ice time night in and night out. For each team, we highlight the top two defenseman and three forwards, as well as their average ice time through Oct. 27.<h2>POWER PLAY</h2>NHL teams are scoring more power play goals in 2005-06 compared to &rsquo;03-04. Here&rsquo;s the power play goals per game for each club in 2003-04 and this season (through Oct. 26). &#9632;

f0020-01

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAN WOOD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03743/8678246-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="266" height="225"></div>If the Mighty Ducks are to be any kind of factor in the Stanley Cup playoff race, they&rsquo;re going to have to figure out a way to survive while shorthanded<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021019/8678253-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="235" height="249"><figcaption class="caption-body">.ANAHEIMMIGHTY DUCKS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;For whatever reason, we&rsquo;re inept at killing penalties,&rdquo; said first-year Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle.After surrendering one power play goal in each of their first two games, the Ducks gave up at least two in their next six outings. Through 10 games, they hadn&rsquo;t blanked an opposition power play. It was little wonder they ranked 28th in penalty-killing efficiency.&ldquo;We have to make some changes in our mindset in those situations,&rdquo; Carlyle said. &ldquo;We have to become stronger, win more 1-on-1 battles. And when you have opportunities to clear pucks, you have to get &rsquo;em down. We have to sacrifice more. We have to outwork some teams&rsquo; power plays.&rdquo;NEWCOMER IMPACT Anaheim wasn&rsquo;t quite sure exactly what to expect after the free agent signing of right winger Teemu Selanne, but 10 games into the season, the popular fan favorite had produced exactly what he is famous for &ndash; offense.Selanne, 35 and coming off major knee surgery, was taking advantage of offense-oriented rules and enforcement standards and led the Ducks with six goals.&ldquo;He has wheels and he can score,&rdquo; Carlyle said. &ldquo;He reported to camp in the best shape that I&rsquo;ve known him in&hellip;We&rsquo;ve asked him to do a lot of different things and he&rsquo;s done everything we&rsquo;ve asked.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh joined center Sergei Fedorov on the injured list after suffering a broken rib Oct. 25 in a 3-1 loss at Los Angeles. Fedorov had missed seven games and counting with a groin injury.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Niedermayer25:47D Salei 21:02F Fedorov 22:15F Niedermayer19:36F Lupul 19:22ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0020-03

Penalty killing woes depressing for Ducks

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOHN MANASSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05322/8678284-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="267" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div>Atlanta&rsquo;s Eric Boulton hit Tampa Bay rookie Paul Ranger. The NHL hit Eric Boulton.The Thrashers&rsquo; winger received a six-game suspension for his elbow to the Ranger&rsquo;s head Oct. 20 with 2:31 left in regulation of a 6-0 loss.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04524/8678291-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="234" height="245"><figcaption class="caption-body">ATLANTATHRASHERS</figcaption></div>The suspension was the Thrashers&rsquo; second in less than a week.Defenseman Andy Sutton received four games for a head shot to Toronto&rsquo;s Darcy Tucker. The Thrashers received heavy criticism throughout the league.Boulton apologized to Ranger and Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk &ndash; who was a teammate in Buffalo for two seasons.&ldquo;Obviously, I was just trying to finish my hit,&rdquo; Boulton said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a dirty player. I don&rsquo;t take cheap shots at guys. It&rsquo;s unfortunate what happened. He&rsquo;s in a position where I got his head with my shoulder. I feel bad the kid&rsquo;s hurt and I hope he&rsquo;s OK.&rdquo;Video replay shows it was an elbow that hit Ranger.NEWCOMER IMPACT Bob Hartley says of his defense corps you never know who is No. 1 and who is No. 6, but a closer look reveals more about how he thinks. Niclas Havelid was averaging 28:42 minutes per game, which is more than any other player.Havelid, acquired on draft day in 2004, plays in every situation. He was minus-4, but that&rsquo;s not bad for a player who logs so many minutes on a team that is minus-11.NOTEBOOK The Thrashers agreed to terms with free agent goalie Steve Shields&hellip; A Boston-based specialist determined goalie Kari Lehtonen needs a month to rehab his injured groin&hellip; Rookie goalies Adam Berkhoel and Michael Garnett were outscored 23-8 in a six-game stretch.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Havelid 28:42D Modry 25:28F Kovalchuk 23:01F Hossa 21:16&nbsp;F Savard 20:21ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0020-05

League unimpressed with rough stuff

<div class="byline">&#x2013; NANCY MARRAPESE-BURRELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02741/8678322-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="267" height="225"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-2110/8678336-1-eng-US/f0021-212.jpg" title="f0021-21" width="91" height="103"></div>In 500 NHL games, Bruins left winger P.J. Axelsson has been known more for his defensive skills than for offensive prowess.With 63 goals and 173 points in 533 games prior to this season, Axelsson was counted on as a neutralizer rather than an equalizer.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011141/8678329-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="235" height="244"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOSTONBRUINS</figcaption></div>But through 10 games, he has been one of the Bruins&rsquo; most reliable contributors with four goals and 10 points. The 30-year-old said the absence of obstruction plays to his strengths and size &ndash; 6-foot-1, 175 pounds.&ldquo;Without the holding, clutching and grabbing, it really helps for a smaller guy like me,&rdquo; Axelsson said.The native of Kungalv, Swe., has played for his country at numerous international events and said he has noticed a change in the way the game is played overseas as well. &ldquo;When I came here eight years ago, we played really defensive back home,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now, it has totally changed.&rdquo;NEWCOMER IMPACT Brian Leetch has logged plenty of minutes and after a slow start, kicked his offense into gear.He has done a fine job quarter-backing the power play although the results haven&rsquo;t been there for the team. He has been a leader in the dressing room and carried himself with dignity. Boston&rsquo;s young blueliners say he has been a mentor to them as they learn the NHL game and assimilate the new rules.NOTEBOOK The Bruins escaped a bus accident Oct. 25 en route to a practice in Toronto. Bus driver Les Seltner had to swerve to avoid hitting an out-of-control vehicle. A jeep came speeding up an on-ramp, with the team bus behind and to the left of it, and went into a series of 360-degree spins. The bus missed the vehicle by inches.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Leetch 26:39D Boynton 21:54F Thornton 21:56F Murray 21:11F Bergeron 19:20ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0021-02

Crafty Axelsson adds offensive flair

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TIM GRAHAM</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04369/8678367-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="267" height="225"></div>Who said the Sabres were going to have a difficult time juggling three goalies? All they&rsquo;ve needed in the first month is one.The Sabres rode Ryan Miller hard through their first nine games (6-3-0-0). He was one of only two NHL goalies to have played every game and was in position to challenge Ed Belfour&rsquo;s rookie record of seven wins in October. Two games &ndash; on Oct. 28-29 &ndash; determined the fate of that record.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03485/8678374-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="234" height="249"><figcaption class="caption-body">BUFFALOSABRES</figcaption></div>Aside from piling up wins, Miller hasn&rsquo;t posted eye-popping stats. He didn&rsquo;t have any shutouts and his goals-against average was 2.74. What he has done is bolstered team confidence with his steadiness.&ldquo;With him playing the way he is definitely instills confidence,&rdquo; said defenseman Jay McKee.Martin Biron has been backup each game, while Mika Noronen has been a healthy scratch.NEWCOMER IMPACT Sabres fans were upset when their team mostly browsed the free agent marketplace and then appeared to overpay on their lone purchase. The Sabres signed 37-year-old defenseman Teppo Numminen for $2 million.Numminen has averaged 19:20 a game. He&rsquo;s a regular on special teams and his five assists tied him with Toni Lydman for Buffalo&rsquo;s blueline scoring lead.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s controlling the puck in our zone, showing composure under pressure and bringing the puck up ice,&rdquo; said coach Lindy Ruff.NOTEBOOK The Sabres have been the NHL&rsquo;s busiest offensive team, averaging 36 shots a game&hellip;The Sabres have had woeful attendance and couldn&rsquo;t even chalk up a cheap sellout when they played a &ldquo;home&rdquo; game against Washington in Rochester. The 11,200-seat AHL venue had nearly 2,700 empties.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Lydman 22:06D Numminen 19:20F Hecht 19:09F Briere 19:07F Drury 18:59ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0021-04

Is it Miller time? Always in Buffalo

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RANDY SPORTAK</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-05257/8678419-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Flames want Roman Hamrlik to make better use of his powerful shot.</figcaption></div>Maybe the lockout was the best thing that happened to right winger Chuck Kobasew.Sure, the pay wasn&rsquo;t great &ndash; seeing as he spent the 2004-05 season in the AHL &ndash; but Kobasew has returned a much improved player.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-06203/8678412-1-eng-US/f0021-062.jpg" title="f0021-06" width="236" height="249"><figcaption class="caption-body">CALGARYFLAMES</figcaption></div>On top of being the Flames top scorer through 11 games with four tallies, the fourth-year pro is one of the few players on the squad regularly taking advantage of the open style of play.The 2001 first round draft choice is using his speed to gain the offensive zone and create chances for himself and his linemates.It would be pie-in-the-sky thinking to expect Kobasew to equal the 38 goals he scored with Lowell last season, but 20 is within reach.NEWCOMER IMPACT Roman Hamrlik&rsquo;s performance so far epitomizes the early going for the club.The defenseman&rsquo;s offensive production has been reasonably good &ndash; he was tied for the team lead with eight points through 11 games &ndash; but everyone was looking for more from the free agent.An integral part of the power play, Hamrlik has simply not posed a consistent threat with the man-advantage. Most noticeable has been Hamrlik&rsquo;s unwillingness to shoot.Instead of using his heavy point shot he&rsquo;s been guilty of deferring pucks to his defense partner: rookie Dion Phaneuf.NOTEBOOK After allowing 20 goals in four games, the Flames only gave up 10 in their next six&hellip; Among reasons winger Jarome Iginla only had two goals in 10 games was his shot total: 27. He scored in No. 11 and had five shots.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-07169/8678405-1-eng-US/f0021-072.jpg" title="f0021-07" width="267" height="225"></div>D Leopold 24:01D Hamrlik 23:01F Iginla 21:33F Amonte 19:16F Langkow 16:40ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0021-05

Kobasew igniting Calgary offense

<div class="byline">&#x2013; LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-09101/8678450-1-eng-US/f0021-092.jpg" title="f0021-09" width="267" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">(ROBERT LABERGE/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>For years a better team at home than on the road, Carolina opened the season with a four-game winning streak at the RBC Center, including a pair of two-goal comebacks against Ottawa and Boston.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-08130/8678457-1-eng-US/f0021-082.jpg" title="f0021-08" width="232" height="196"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAROLINAHURRICANES</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I hope the guys take some pride in this home record,&rdquo; said coach Peter Laviolette. &ldquo;We want to keep that zero as long as possible.&rdquo;In five seasons at the arena, the Canes were only four games over .500. It&rsquo;s their best start since the 1996-97 Hartford Whalers opened 4-0-0 at home.Overall, the Canes&rsquo; 6-2-1 start is the franchise&rsquo;s best opening stretch in more than a decade. Center Eric Staal has been the focal point, with six goals and 15 points and at least a point in all but one of the Canes&rsquo; first nine games.NEWCOMER IMPACT Left winger Matt Cullen can&rsquo;t remember the last time he had this much fun playing hockey. A pre-lockout acquisition lost in the post-lockout shuffle, he has thrived in the freedom of the new NHL.He&rsquo;s tied with Staal for the team lead with six goals, and his speed and puck skills in close quarters have been just as impressive.&ldquo;I knew he was a good player, but not the tear that he&rsquo;s on right now,&rdquo; Staal said. &ldquo;You see it every day in practice, the offensive skills that he has.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK After missing the first six games of the season with a groin injury, left winger Ray Whitney had a goal and five points in his first three games&hellip;Goalie Cam Ward&nbsp;left the Oct. 22 game against Washington with an elbow injury, but recently activated backstop Martin Gerber came in to complete the first shared shutout in franchise history.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Tverdovsky 16:56D Commodore 16:52F Brind&rsquo;Amour 21:38F J. Williams 17:53F Staal 17:31ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0021-09

Whirling Hurricanes rule the Southeast

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TIM SASSONE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02949/8678488-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="267" height="225"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-2070/8678502-1-eng-US/f0022-202.jpg" title="f0022-20" width="91" height="103"></div>The Blackhawks were getting a good look at the crackdown on obstruction &ndash; from the penalty box.The Hawks were shorthanded 75 times in their first nine games (8.3 per game), straining the penalty killers and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011286/8678495-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="238" height="244"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHICAGOBLACKHAWKS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a problem,&rdquo; said defenseman Adrian Aucoin.Coach Trent Yawney threatened to sit players who weren&rsquo;t conforming to the new rules, while GM Dale Tallon admitted complaining to the league about the number of 5-on-3s against the Hawks. The Hawks were shorthanded by two men 16 times compared to three 5-on-3 advantages for them. &ldquo;Some have been deserving and some haven&rsquo;t been, but that&rsquo;s no excuse,&rdquo; Yawney said.NEWCOMER IMPACT Jaroslav Spacek was the least heralded free agent signed by the Hawks. But he&rsquo;s having a big impact, especially with Aucoin in and out of the lineup due to a groin problem.The mobile Spacek has adjusted well to the new rules and chipped in four points in six games after recovering from bruised ribs that had sidelined him for most of camp. The defenseman was one of the few consistent parts of the power play, as wingers Tuomo Ruutu, Eric Daze and Kyle Calder battled injuries.NOTEBOOK The Hawks continued to downplay left winger Tuomo Ruutu&rsquo;s back problem even though he was off the ice for 11 straight days. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to push him,&rdquo; said coach Trent Yawney&hellip; The Hawks felt it was best defenseman Cam Barker return to his junior team at Medicine Hat (WHL). Barker appeared in only one NHL game&hellip;Left winger Eric Daze had not skated since his back went out on Oct. 9.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Spacek 24:04&nbsp;D Keith 22:19F Calder 17:39F Arnason 17:13F Vorobiev 15:57ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0022-02

Undisciplined Hawks need to smarten up

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04531/8678533-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="267" height="225"></div>In the old NHL, John-Michael Liles was drafted 159th overall by the Avalanche in 2000. Now, Liles would surely be a first round pick.And not just because Liles got off to a blazing start and was an NHL first-team all-rookie performer in 2003-04. Liles always has been a quick and mobile defenseman, but the worry was he would be too small to play in the clutch-and-grab game in which big D-men reigned.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03723/8678540-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="228" height="237"><figcaption class="caption-body">COLORADOAVALANCHE</figcaption></div>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be a star,&rdquo; said Rob Blake. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s perfect for the new game, but he could play in the old one, too. He&rsquo;s fast and can move the puck.&rdquo;Liles, a potential 2006 U.S. Olympian, had four goals and 11 points in eight games.NEWCOMER&nbsp;IMPACT Patrice Brisebois had five goals in nine games. In his previous 144, with Montreal, he had nine.One of the goals was a winner against Edmonton Oct. 25. Brisebois, a blueliner, has even become a fan-favorite in Denver, after being a scapegoat in Montreal. Yes, some Avs fans rightfully have gotten nervous with some of his puck decisions in his own end, but Brisebois has had a great attitude in the dressing room.&ldquo;There are more offensive opportunities in the league now,&rdquo; he said.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Bob Boughner was a healthy scratch in six of nine games and was not happy about it. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t gotten a chance,&rdquo; he said&hellip;Right winger Milan Hejduk returned from knee surgery Oct. 21 in Edmonton, scoring two goals in a 7-1 win&hellip;The Avs returned left winger Wojtek Wolski to Brampton (OHL) and recalled left winger Paul Healey Oct. 26. Wolski, Colorado&rsquo;s first pick in 2004 (21st overall), had two goals and six points in nine games.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Brisebois 24:14D Blake 24:13F Sakic 20:31F Tanguay 17:52F Konowalchuk 16:39ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0022-04

Colorado likes Liles even more in ’05-06

<div class="byline">&#x2013; AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06317/8678571-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="267" height="225"></div>Blue Jackets owner John H. McConnell made a rare appearance at a recent morning skate.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing without some key guys (because of injuries), but it shouldn&rsquo;t make it as bad as it&rsquo;s been,&rdquo; McConnell said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05401/8678578-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="232" height="243"><figcaption class="caption-body">COLUMBUSBLUE JACKETS</figcaption></div>Columbus started the year 2-7-0, including back-to-back losses to Detroit by a combined score of 12-2. There were 2,000 empty seats in Columbus at the second game, the first time a Red Wings-Blue Jackets game has not sold out.McConnell was asked about speculation GM Doug MacLean&rsquo;s job may be in jeopardy.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no truth to it,&rsquo;&rsquo; he said. &ldquo;Eventually that would be true if they continue to play so poorly.&rsquo;&rsquo;How long would McConnell put up with such sorry play? &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll get through December,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Probably.&rdquo;NEWCOMER IMPACT Two seats away from captain Luke Richardson&rsquo;s spot in the dressing room sits Adam Foote, a man who also could easily wear the &lsquo;C.&rsquo;Quickly, Foote has become the leader the Jackets hoped when he signed as a free agent last summer.Mostly, he&rsquo;s tried to bring an air of confidence and consistency to a group that hasn&rsquo;t had much of either since 2000-01.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get into the mindset that we should be desperate every night,&rsquo;&rsquo; Foote said.And Foote has delivered on the ice, scoring the winner in a 3-2 overtime win over Nashville Oct. 26.NOTEBOOK Goalie Marc Denis injured his collarbone in the second Detroit loss. The team initially thought it was broken, but further tests showed it was only bruised&hellip; With two games left to play in the month, the Blue Jackets are 13-33-5-2 all-time in October.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Foote 24:11D Berard 21:43F Marchant 19:31F Vyborny 19:07F Zherdev 17:13ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0022-06

Slow-to-start squad feeling the pressure

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02815/8678609-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="267" height="225"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-332/8678623-1-eng-US/f0023-332.jpg" title="f0023-33" width="91" height="103"></div>After nine games, the Stars were a solid 5-3-1 in the standings, but pretty much a mess both on paper and on the ice.Dallas ranked 29th in shots on goal (23.8 per game) and 28th in penalty minutes (23.1 per game). They gave up more goals than they scored (22-26) and were wildly inconsistent from game to game.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011156/8678616-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="230" height="198"><figcaption class="caption-body">DALLASSTARS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s frustrating,&rdquo; said winger Brenden Morrow, after the team blew a 4-2 lead and lost 5-4 to rival San Jose in overtime Oct. 26. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just making a lot of puck mistakes, a lot of turnovers, taking a lot of bad penalties.&rdquo;From shift to shift, the Stars have no idea what kind of team will be on the ice. Coach Dave Tippett has shuffled every line except the Mike Modano unit.NEWCOMER IMPACT The biggest change for the Stars this season has been a revamped defense that is built to handle the puck. Free agents Martin Skoula and Stephane Robidas and sophomore Trevor Daley have led the charge. All three skate well and make a decent breakout pass. Daley has been skating 17 minutes a game and coming up with at least one big play per night.NOTEBOOK Goalie Marty Turco earned his 100th career regular season victory in a 2-1 win over Calgary Oct. 22&hellip;Right wingers Vojtech Polak and Junior Lessard made their NHL debuts that night as well. Polak was a plus-1, while Lessard recorded four hits. Lessard was returned to the minors the next day&hellip;Defenseman Sergei Zubov missed two games with back spasms and the Stars went 1-1-0. Dallas is .500 lifetime when Zubov is out of the lineup&hellip;Defenseman Philippe Boucher has scored two game-winning goals this season and assisted on another.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Zubov 23:49D Boucher 22:27F Modano 19:50F Morrow 19:50F Lehtinen 19:05ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0023-02

Stars are winning, but in poor fashion

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ANSAR KHAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04443/8678654-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="267" height="225"></div>Some predicted doom for the Detroit Red Wings in the new NHL, believing their aging roster and a dramatically slashed payroll would be a disastrous combination.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03607/8678661-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="231" height="229"><figcaption class="caption-body">DETROITRED WINGS</figcaption></div>But the post-lockout Wings don&rsquo;t look much different than the pre-lockout version that won the Presidents&rsquo; Trophy in 2003-04. They might even be better.The Wings were off to the best 10-game start in franchise history (9-1-0), outscoring opponents 42-19.Offensively, the Wings have been as potent as ever. Defensively, they&rsquo;re near the top of the league. Their power play (27.2 per cent, second in NHL) and penalty-killing (92.0 per cent, third) units are among the best in the game, too.NEWCOMER IMPACT Free agent right winger Mikael Samuelsson was signed as a fourth line checker, but has done much more.Samuelsson scored a goal in each of Detroit&rsquo;s first four games and had six goals in his first eight games. He has played extensive minutes on the power play and has killed penalties. His size (6-foot-2, 211 pounds) also has been an asset.NOTEBOOK Center Kris Draper missed only one game after being hit in the right eye with a puck against San Jose Oct. 17. He returned to the ice with a visor, which he said he will be permanent&hellip;Goalie Manny Legace tied an NHL record for wins (nine) in October, with two games remaining in the month&hellip;Goalie Chris Osgood (groin) went 2-1-0 during a conditioning stint with Grand Rapids (AHL) and then rejoined the Wings&hellip;Mathieu Schneider became the 11th U.S.-born defenseman to play in 1,000 games Oct. 21&hellip;The Wings defeated Anaheim 3-2 Oct. 21 in coach Mike Babcock&rsquo;s first game against his old team.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Lidstrom 26:32D Schneider 24:11F Zetterberg 18:38F Lang 16:38&nbsp;F Datsyuk 16:06ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0023-04

Red Wings soaring thanks to balance

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ROB TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-06262/8678692-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="266" height="225"></div>It&rsquo;s never a good sign when, nine games into the season, the guy who was supposed to be your starting goalie is sent to the minors.But that&rsquo;s where Ty Conklin found himself, on a two-week conditioning stint with the American League&rsquo;s Hamilton Bulldogs, hoping a change of scenery would help him rediscover his confidence.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-05326/8678699-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="234" height="251"><figcaption class="caption-body">EDMONTONOILERS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I need to get some games in and it&rsquo;s probably not going to happen (in Edmonton),&rsquo;&rsquo; said the 29-year-old. &ldquo;I can understand (coach Craig MacTavish&rsquo;s) hesitation to put me in right now the way the team is going. I know he wants to let me work out of it, but in the meantime you have to have results, too.&rsquo;&rsquo;Conklin&rsquo;s stats before the re-assignment were a 4.39 goals-against average and .836 save percentage. He was pulled from two games in four starts.NEWCOMER IMPACT After all of the hoopla surrounding the additions of Chris Pronger and Michael Peca, the newcomers haven&rsquo;t made much of an impact at all. With just one goal, Peca has been all but invisible through the first 10 games. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been very average,&rsquo;&rsquo; MacTavish said. &ldquo;We need a better performance out of him and he knows that.&rsquo;&rsquo;Pronger, who was expected to boost a power play that finished 29th in 2003-04, hasn&rsquo;t. The Oilers were 24th (13 per cent) after their seventh straight loss. Defensively, Pronger has been good, but two assists in 10 games isn&rsquo;t enough.NOTEBOOK Coach Craig MacTavish put the club through a 50-minute skate without pucks following the club&rsquo;s seventh straight defeat, a 5-3 loss at Colorado Oct. 25. &ldquo;We knew it was coming,&rsquo;&rsquo; said defenseman Chris Pronger. The Oilers coughed up a 3-2 lead with six minutes remaining.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Pronger 28:25&nbsp;D Staios 21:50F Stoll 19:50F Horcoff 19:12&nbsp;F Dvorak 18:21ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0023-06

Conklin’s struggles shipped off to farm

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRIAN BIGGANE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-09147/8678737-1-eng-US/f0023-092.jpg" title="f0023-09" width="878" height="1216"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARTIN GELINASFLORIDA PANTHERS</figcaption></div>Hurricane Wilma disrupted not only the Panthers&rsquo; schedule, but the lives of virtually everyone associated with the team when it roared through South Florida Oct. 24.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-07217/8678744-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="236" height="254"><figcaption class="caption-body">FLORIDAPANTHERS</figcaption></div>The impending arrival of the storm led to the postponement of the Oct. 22 Florida-Ottawa game; it will be played Monday, Dec. 5. The chaos left behind &ndash; damage to the Bank-Atlantic Center and disruption of power throughout the area &ndash; also led to the postponement of Florida&rsquo;s Oct. 29 game against Washington; no makeup date was given.The team left for its Oct. 25 game at Pittsburgh a day earlier than normal to beat the storm, only to have players, coaches and trainers stuck watching the horror on TV from 1,000 miles away, unable to help their families.&ldquo;You feel bad,&rdquo; said Sean Hill. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m supposed to be the man of the house, then I take off and the bad stuff comes.&rdquo;NEWCOMER IMPACT The free agent signing of Martin Gelinas over the summer didn&rsquo;t draw the attention of landing Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts, but with that pair missing much of the early season due to injuries, Gelinas&rsquo; quiet leadership has been invaluable.Typical of Gelinas&rsquo; effort were a pair of plays in Florida&rsquo;s 4-3 comeback win at Pittsburgh Oct. 25.Early in the game, Gelinas drove to the net to put away the rebound of a shot by Kristian Huselius to give Florida a 2-1 lead; later, after Pittsburgh had scored a pair of goals, his screen helped Lukas Krajicek blast a bullet past JocelynThibault for the goal that forced overtime.Gelinas&rsquo; grit and his nose for the net are setting a good example for a group of young Panthers who still have a lot to learn about winning.NOTEBOOK&nbsp;Left winger Gary Roberts (groin) returned against Pittsburgh after a five-game absence, while center Joe Nieuwendyk (back spasms) was out indefinitely&hellip;Winger Anthony Stewart, a first-rounder in 2003 (25th overall), scored in his second NHL game&hellip;Center Nathan Horton had four goals in a six-game span.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-08183/8678730-1-eng-US/f0023-082.jpg" title="f0023-08" width="267" height="226"><figcaption class="caption-body">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div>D Hill 24:19D Van Ryn 23:35F Jokinen 18:43F Gratton 15:29F Weiss 15:22ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0023-09

Families left behind as Panthers escape

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RICH HAMMOND</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02884/8678775-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="267" height="224"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1470/8678789-1-eng-US/f0024-142.jpg" title="f0024-14" width="91" height="103"></div>Jeremy Roenick&rsquo;s steely eyes turned soft as he leaned against a door and explained how life in the post-lockout NHL wasn&rsquo;t quite going according to plan.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011247/8678782-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="201" height="236"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOS ANGELESKINGS</figcaption></div>Roenick, who scored two goals in the first five minutes of the Kings&rsquo; season opener, had one goal in his next eight games and sat out an Oct. 25 contest against Anaheim with groin and hamstring injuries.&ldquo;Right now I&rsquo;m just battling my position,&rdquo; Roenick said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going one way and the puck is going the other. It&rsquo;s tough, but if it doesn&rsquo;t go in offensively, you have to do other things to help the team. I don&rsquo;t expect to be burning it up after nine games, but I have to contribute in other ways.&rdquo;Roenick, 35, remains an important member of the Kings&rsquo; penalty-killing unit and, before he missed the Ducks game, ranked third on the team with 22 shots.&ldquo;If he continues to work at it, the production will come,&rsquo;&rsquo; said coach Andy Murray.NEWCOMER IMPACT To say Pavol Demitra is a bit on the quiet side is a bit of an understatement. He can enter and exit a room without attracting notice, but the Kings&rsquo; least-vocal new addition has been their best player so far. Demitra totaled five goals and 10 points in his first 10 games and has been a major contributor on the Kings&rsquo; power play, along with playing right wing on a line with Alexander Frolov and Craig Conroy.NOTEBOOK Jason LaBarbera entered training camp as the backup goalie, played his way into a platoon in training camp and by late October was outplaying Mathieu Garon. The goalies split the Kings&rsquo; first 10 games with LaBarbera going 5-0-0 and not allowing more than two goals in any start.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Visnovsky 23:09D Norstrom 18:57F Demitra 22:32F Frolov 18:39F Conroy 16:59ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0024-02

Injuries hamper J.R. in new, faster NHL

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRIAN MURPHY</div>Marian Gaborik&rsquo;s welcome-back party lasted three games.The right winger scored the Wild&rsquo;s only two goals in a 4-2 loss at Chicago Oct. 23 before straining his left hip flexor.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03632/8678827-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="254" height="217"><figcaption class="caption-body">MINNESOTAWILD</figcaption></div>It was another set-back for Gaborik, who was sidelined most of training camp and missed the first six games of the season because of a right groin strain.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s (ticking) me off, obviously,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This kind of thing doesn&rsquo;t help you mentally.&rdquo;With two goals and six points, Gaborik augmented Minnesota&rsquo;s surprisingly potent offense. The hip flexor injury is not as serious as the groin strain; Gaborik was slated to return in early November.NEWCOMER IMPACT Left winger Brian Rolston came to the Wild as advertised from the Boston Bruins. Versatile enough to play all three forward positions and man the point on the power play &ndash; and dangerous enough to score on every shorthanded shift &ndash; Rolston quickly established himself as Minnesota&rsquo;s most complete player in Gaborik&rsquo;s absence.Rolston signed for three years at $9.45 million before the lockout, choosing the Wild over aggressive suitors like the Islanders and Kings.His heavy, accurate shot is a threat from just about anywhere on the ice, while his leadership has made his acquisition a smart investment.NOTEBOOK The groin injury epidemic had center Wes Walz grousing about sloppy ice conditions, including the usually sleek sheet at Xcel Energy Center. &ldquo;The ice collectively around the league is garbage,&rdquo; Walz said. &ldquo;If someone actually watched the puck for 30 seconds with five minutes left in each period, you&rsquo;d know what I&rsquo;m talking about.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04446/8678820-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="267" height="225"></div>D Kuba 24:57D Mitchell 19:58F Rolston 19:24F Chouinard 18:58F Dupuis 17:24ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0024-03

Another bad break for sniper Gaborik

<div class="byline">&#x2013; HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05312/8678872-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mathieu Dandenault&rsquo;s versatility has been a welcome addition in Montreal.</figcaption></div>If they could boo Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau and Patrick Roy in Montreal, certainly Bell Centre fans can voice their displeasure toward Sheldon Souray.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06247/8678865-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="235" height="212"><figcaption class="caption-body">MONTREALCANADIENS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel I&rsquo;ve played that badly,&rdquo; Souray said, with a goal and three points in nine games. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a matter of fine-tuning parts of my game to make sure I&rsquo;m not going to put us at a disadvantage.&rdquo;Canadiens fans have long memories. Souray had a career season in 2003-04, scoring 15 goals and 35 points in 63 games. He&rsquo;s considered the team&rsquo;s premier defenseman and is expected to build on those totals.But in the new, hands-off NHL, punishing opponents near the crease is frowned upon. That&rsquo;s the essence of Souray&rsquo;s game.&ldquo;Where I used to be aggressive, now I find myself saying, &lsquo;This would be a great opportunity to whack this guy, but I&rsquo;m going to be in the box,&rsquo;&rdquo; Souray said.NEWCOMER IMPACT Mathieu Dandenault has become a luxury every coach would love. The versatile player, who came over as a free agent from Detroit, began his career as a forward before being switched to defense.He proved invaluable after injuries limited Montreal to 11 forwards. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to have a player like that in the lineup,&rdquo; said coach Claude Julien.NOTEBOOK Goalie Jose Theodore&nbsp;is renting a suite at the Bell Centre for underprivileged children&hellip; Police responded to a 911 call from the apartment of Sheldon Souray Oct. 23. Angelica Bridges, Souray&rsquo;s wife, claimed she had been pushed against a stove, according to reports. No criminal complaint was filed. Bridges filed for divorce in August.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-07204/8678858-1-eng-US/f0024-072.jpg" title="f0024-07" width="267" height="225"></div>D A. Markov 25:24D Souray 20:37F Kovalev 21:26F Koivu 19:49F Bonk 16:29ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0024-05

Habs fans unhappy with Souray’s play

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02770/8678941-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="267" height="225"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-2020/8678955-1-eng-US/f0025-202.jpg" title="f0025-20" width="91" height="103"></div>Stevens said he has no desire to come out of retirement and return to the New Jersey Devils.But what if the Devils continued to struggle well into this season and GM Lou Lamoriello called? Has Stevens completely ruled out a comeback?</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011118/8678948-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="207" height="241"><figcaption class="caption-body">NEW JERSEYDEVILS</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s a long shot at best. Scott&ldquo;I think so, but you never know what&rsquo;s going to happen,&rdquo; said Stevens, leaving the door slightly ajar.Does he consider himself permanently retired? &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;for right now.&rdquo;With the league&rsquo;s emphasis on increased offense, the Devils knew they might be giving up more goals this season. However, for the first time in many years, they have had problems holding onto a lead.&ldquo;Defense is as much a five-man unit as putting the onus on the (defensemen),&rdquo; said coach Larry Robinson. &ldquo;If a forward doesn&rsquo;t pick up the point, a defenseman can&rsquo;t be everywhere. A defenseman can&rsquo;t be battling in the corner with a guy and pick up another guy in the slot. We need everybody on the same page.&rdquo;NEWCOMER IMPACT At a time when the power play can make or break a team, the Devils felt fortunate to have brought back right winger Alexander Mogilny last summer. Mogilny was the player Lamoriello acquired to carry the offense while Patrik Elias recovered from Hepatitis A, and he turned out to be an ideal addition in a league dedicated to giving skilled players more room to work.NOTEBOOK Goalie Martin Brodeur sustained a right knee injury Oct. 26 and was scheduled to have an MRI&hellip;Left winger Krzysztof Oliwa&rsquo;s return to the Devils was over after three games when he was placed on waivers.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Rafalski&nbsp;26:01D Malakhov&nbsp;24:01F Gomez&nbsp;17:40F Madden&nbsp;16:41F Gionta&nbsp;16:30ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0025-02

Stevens’ retirement holds firm ‘for now’

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PETER BOTTE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04357/8678986-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="267" height="225"></div>Janne Niinimaa is the lone holdover from the Islanders&rsquo; pre-lockout &ldquo;Fab Four&rdquo; defense corps, but the veteran rearguard is enduring a tough adjustment to the strictly enforced obstruction rules.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03535/8678993-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="236" height="251"><figcaption class="caption-body">NEW YORKISLANDERS</figcaption></div>Niinimaa was assessed 13 minor penalties in the Isles&rsquo; first nine games, including four in one night in a brutal loss to Philadelphia.Playing mostly with rookie Tomi Pettinen, Niinimaa&rsquo;s minus-4 rating was also the worst on the team during New York&rsquo;s 5-4-0 start. That is not the start the organization was expecting for a player earning $2.43 million &ndash; especially after the Isles lost blue-line stalwarts Kenny Jonsson, Adrian Aucoin and Roman Hamrlik.NEWCOMER IMPACT Right winger Miroslav Satan and center Alexei Yashin have occasionally infuriated coach Steve Stirling with what he has called a &ldquo;brain-dead&rdquo; approach to defense, but there is no denying the offensive impact Satan has had since signing a three-year, $12.75-million deal as a free agent.Satan buried five goals in a four-game span through Oct. 25, giving him seven in his first nine games. Satan immediately developed chemistry with Yashin, who totaled six goals and 12 points in nine games.NOTEBOOK Enforcer Eric Godard was fined $1,000 by the NHL for grabbing Rangers defenseman Darius Kasparaitis from the bench Oct. 19. His teammates chipped in to help pay the fine&hellip;Center Shawn Bates returned to the lineup Oct. 22 after missing four games with a hip strain&hellip;Right winger Mark Parrish (hip strain) and defenseman Brent Sopel (sore wrist) each missed two consecutive games (Oct. 22-25), but neither injury was considered serious.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Zhitnik 25:48D Sopel 22:48F York 18:45F Parrish 18:25F Yashin 17:51ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0025-04

Zero-tolerance rules don’t suit Niinimaa

<div class="byline">&#x2013; LARRY BROOKS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-05259/8679038-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tom Poti needs to be more aggressive to please Ranger coach Tom Renney.</figcaption></div>Scratched for the second time in 10 games, Tom Poti complained he was being scapegoated by coach Tom Renney.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-06208/8679031-1-eng-US/f0025-062.jpg" title="f0025-06" width="221" height="245"><figcaption class="caption-body">NEW YORKRANGERS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Why does he have to do it through me?&rdquo; asked Poti, when told the coach said he was sending a message to the team by not dressing him for an Oct. 22 game in Buffalo. &ldquo;It seems like the last time he sent a message through me, too. I don&rsquo;t feel I should be the guy who&rsquo;s made an example of all the time.&rdquo;The 28-year-old defenseman was first scratched from the lineup for the third game of the season at New Jersey Oct. 8. He responded with a series of strong, involved games before falling off. Renney suggested Poti must play far more physically.&ldquo;There are parts of the game that are uncomfortable and you&rsquo;ve got to involve yourself in that,&rdquo; said Renney, who restored Poti to the lineup in the ensuing Oct. 27 game against the Isles.NEWCOMER IMPACT He&rsquo;s a new-comer three times over, but veteran winger Martin Rucinsky has been the Rangers&rsquo; lone legitimate scoring alternative to Jaromir Jagr. Added as a free agent this summer after his second Broadway tour ended with a 2004 deadline trade to Vancouver, Rucinsky had five goals in 10 games, clearly taking advantage of the greater time and space allotted puck carriers in the new NHL.NOTEBOOK The Rangers recalled center Fedor Fedorov from Hartford (AHL) Oct. 25&hellip; Defenseman Dale Purinton was dispatched to Hartford with seven games remaining on his 10-game NHL suspension for eye-gouging Boston&rsquo;s Colton Orr.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-07175/8679024-1-eng-US/f0025-072.jpg" title="f0025-07" width="267" height="225"></div>D Rozsival 23:26D Malik 21:41F Nylander 21:09&nbsp;F Jagr 21:03F Rucinsky 20:11ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0025-05

Poti getting tired of same old message

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRUCE GARRIOCH</div>All Jason Spezza wants is a shot to make Team Canada.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a goal of mine to make the Olympic team,&rdquo; Spezza said. &ldquo;I know I wasn&rsquo;t invited to the training camp (in the summer), but I want to show them I deserve the opportunity to play at that level.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-08144/8679076-1-eng-US/f0025-082.jpg" title="f0025-08" width="246" height="237"><figcaption class="caption-body">OTTAWASENATORS</figcaption></div>Making his debut as a fulltime No. 1 center in the NHL, Spezza, the American League MVP last season in Binghamton, cleared one hurdle by being named to Canada&rsquo;s list of 81 players.Next, he has to find a way to convince Canadian executive director Wayne Gretzky and his staff &ndash; which includes former Senators coach Jacques Martin &ndash; to name him to the squad.Spezza has relished his role as the top man in the Senators lineup.&ldquo;I just want to be considered,&rdquo; Spezza said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a good first step for me. If Dany Heatley and I can keep having success, maybe they&rsquo;ll think about taking the two of us together.&rdquo;NEWCOMER IMPACT There was plenty of concern about the health of Heatley, a left winger, when he was acquired from Atlanta for winger Marian Hossa in the summer.Observers were worried Heatley wasn&rsquo;t fully recovered from reconstructive knee surgery after a devastating car accident in 2003 or from an eye injury he suffered in Europe last season. With three goals and 10 points in his first seven games, Heatley appeared to be fine.NOTEBOOK Ottawa will have to go back to Florida Dec. 5 because the Oct. 22 game against the Panthers was rescheduled due to Hurricane Wilma&hellip;Senators right winger Chris Neil was well on his way to breaking his single-season high of 10 goals set in 2001-02. He had four goals in his first seven games.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-09114/8679069-1-eng-US/f0025-092.jpg" title="f0025-09" width="267" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption></div>D Chara 22:27D Redden 21:42F Havlat 19:34F Heatley 18:52F Alfredsson 18:49ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0025-08

Spezza has goal of making Olympics

<div class="byline">&#x2013; WAYNE FISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02895/8679107-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="267" height="225"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-09193/8679121-1-eng-US/f0026-092.jpg" title="f0026-09" width="91" height="103"></div>The mystery behind Jeff Carter&rsquo;s slow start was hardly a secret in the dressing room.Most of the Flyers knew the talented rookie had battled a severe case of mononucleosis in the summer, precipitating a 15-pound weight loss. But the general public didn&rsquo;t get word until Carter &ndash; who failed to register a point in his first four NHL games &ndash; finally agreed to openly discuss the matter.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011255/8679114-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="233" height="218"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHILADELPHIAFLYERS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It was disappointing,&rsquo;&rsquo; admitted the 20-year-old center. &ldquo;I was looking forward to a good summer, putting on some weight, which would have helped me big-time.&rsquo;&rsquo;Carter finally notched his first point, an assist, in Philadelphia&rsquo;s fifth game.NEWCOMER IMPACT Mike Knuble had six points in his first six games. Not a surprise, since he&rsquo;s coming off the two best seasons (59 and 46 points) of his career.But Knuble turned heads with how quickly he adapted to his spot on the first line with Peter Forsberg and Simon Gagne. Knuble uses his size to get in close around the net and the tighter obstruction policy has only helped the winger.NOTEBOOK After Steve Downie was suspended by the OHL for his part in a hazing incident, the 2005 first round draft pick (29th overall) was invited to practice with the Flyers on a two-game road swing. The NHL intervened two days into the trip and Downie was instructed to return to the OHL&hellip;Mike Richards&rsquo; goal while the Flyers were two men short in a 5-2 win at Toronto Oct. 22 was Philadelphia&rsquo;s first goal in a 3-on-5 situation since Terry Carkner scored Dec. 5, 1991.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Johnsson 24:00D Desjardins 22:06F Gagne 21:30F Knuble 20:01F Forsberg 18:25ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0026-02

Struggling super-rookie reveals summer illness

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JERRY BROWN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04533/8679152-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="267" height="225"></div>Wayne Gretzky already has had some tough personnel decisions this season.He nudged close friend Brett Hull toward retirement by slashing his ice time and agreed to trade center Jeff Taffe, who not only is a top-rated prospect, but is engaged to Gretzky&rsquo;s niece.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03726/8679159-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="221" height="248"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHOENIXCOYOTES</figcaption></div>But when Mike Comrie failed to score in the first 10 games and went from the first line to the press box, Gretzky was patient. Three years removed from a 33-goal rookie season, Comrie is an important piece of Phoenix&rsquo;s offense. After a closed-door chat with Gretzky, Comrie responded with a goal and two assists in a win over St. Louis Oct. 25. &ldquo;He just told me to relax, work hard and do what I do best,&rdquo; Comrie said.NEWCOMER IMPACT When veterans Sean O&rsquo;Donnell and Cale Hulse spent most of the pre-season in the penalty box, 21-year-old Zbynek Michalek got a shot to prove he could be a responsible blueliner.Using the new rules to hide his deficiencies &ndash; physical play &ndash; Michalek skated in the first 11 games, averaging 21 minutes of ice time.NOTEBOOK Winger Mike Johnson&nbsp;scored his first goal in more than two years, against St. Louis Oct. 25. Johnson missed the final 71 games of the 2003-04 season after undergoing shoulder surgery&hellip;Center Mike Ricci, who has been both injured and struggling to keep up in the early going, was a healthy scratch against the Blues&hellip;Goaltender David LeNeveu, who was a hard-luck 0-3-1 in his first four starts, earned his first NHL win against St. Louis.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Tanabe 21:49D Mara 21:37F Doan 19:49F Nedved 19:25F Nagy 18:51ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0026-04

Ice-cold Comrie warms up after chat with Gretzky

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOE STARKEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-06330/8679190-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="267" height="225"></div>The Penguins&rsquo; season-opening winless streak took on historical proportions as it stretched to nine games (0-4-5). That&rsquo;s three games longer than the next longest season-opening skid in franchise history.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05400/8679197-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="233" height="251"><figcaption class="caption-body">PITTSBURGHPENGUINS</figcaption></div>It also stacked the odds against the Penguins making the playoffs. Only two teams since 1990 have rebounded from a season-opening winless streak of nine games or longer to make the playoffs &ndash; the 1995-96 Calgary Flames and 1993-94 San Jose Sharks.Despite the Penguins&rsquo; troubles, coach Eddie Olczyk received public endorsements from owner/center Mario Lemieux and GM Craig Patrick.NEWCOMER IMPACT The Penguins signed free agent Ziggy Palffy for one reason: to score. He was one of the few players who delivered as expected over the first month. Palffy, playing mostly with star rookie center Sidney Crosby, was tied for the team lead in goals with four and was tied for second in scoring with 10 points.The freer skating game has allowed Palffy to roam at times, as well as wait for Crosby feeds and to set up plays himself. An underrated playmaker, Palffy and Crosby have developed a quick and special chemistry.NOTEBOOK Center Mario Lemieux&nbsp;was held pointless in six of the first nine games&hellip;Right winger Andre Roy had his left orbital bone fractured by a punch from Boston&rsquo;s Colton Orr. Roy is out indefinitely&hellip;The Penguins hoped to sell out every game this season, but went two straight below capacity.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Gonchar 25:58D Jackman 21:24F Recchi 21:43F Lemieux 20:09&nbsp;F Palffy 19:59ICE&nbsp;TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0026-06

Season-opening slump makes life tough for Pens

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TOM TIMMERMAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-08227/8679228-1-eng-US/f0026-082.jpg" title="f0026-08" width="266" height="225"></div>It&rsquo;s not unusual for a defenseman to be among the top scorers for the Blues. But with Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis gone, St. Louis&rsquo; big blueline threat is Christian Backman. The 25-year-old had seven points in the first eight games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-07283/8679235-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="230" height="236"><figcaption class="caption-body">ST. LOUISBLUES</figcaption></div>&ldquo;His reads have been great,&rsquo;&rsquo; said coach Mike Kitchen. &ldquo;He moves forward with the puck. I always say he doesn&rsquo;t know how good he&rsquo;s going to be.&rdquo;Backman spent the lockout at home in Sweden, where he won the league title with Frolunda.&ldquo;I think it was good that I kept playing,&rsquo;&rsquo; he said. &ldquo;I played a lot of good games and played in the world championship. But if I&rsquo;d played here, who knows, maybe I&rsquo;d be even better.&rdquo;NEWCOMER IMPACT The Blues have gotten good return on one of their few free agent signings &ndash; left winger Dean McAmmond. Earning under $1 million, he has been one of the top scorers on a low-scoring team, with four goals.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a dangerous player, especially on the rush,&rsquo;&rsquo; Kitchen said. &ldquo;He tries moves you wouldn&rsquo;t think he would try. He&rsquo;s got a terrific shot.&rdquo;McAmmond adds a lot of experience &ndash; and a little speed &ndash; to a team packed with grinders.NOTEBOOK Center Petr Cajanek&nbsp;got seven of his first eight points this season on the power play&hellip;Right winger Eric Boguniecki, who had off-season shoulder surgery, was cleared for contact and the Blues sent him to train &ndash; but not play &ndash; with Peoria (AHL) while the Blues were on a West Coast swing. A mid-November return is likely.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Brewer 25:16D Backman 24:20F Weight 20:50F Sillinger 18:37F Young 18:02ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0026-08

Blues’ Backman emerges as primary offensive force

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ROSS MCKEON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02822/8679266-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="267" height="225"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1364/8679280-1-eng-US/f0027-132.jpg" title="f0027-13" width="91" height="103"></div>Evgeni Nabokov predicted new NHL standards might lead to goalies getting hurt. He wishes he wasn&rsquo;t right with his prediction.Nabokov got rolled by teammate Christian Ehrhoff, who was trailing a breaking Nikolai Zherdev as the Columbus winger sprinted free for a two-line pass. Nabokov made a sliding save on the shot, but didn&rsquo;t have time to avoid a collision with Ehrhoff, sending the two hard into the boards in Columbus Oct. 22.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011201/8679273-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="205" height="232"><figcaption class="caption-body">SAN JOSESHARKS</figcaption></div>Nabokov remained in the game long enough to play a puck behind the net and determined he couldn&rsquo;t go on. Out for at least a week, Nabokov hands the reigns to Vesa Toskala.&ldquo;Vesa has been looking for more time,&rdquo; said coach Ron Wilson. &ldquo;Now he&rsquo;s going to get it.&rdquo;NEWCOMER IMPACT It hasn&rsquo;t shown on the scoresheet, but 20-year-old Czech Milan Michalek was the team&rsquo;s most consistent forward the first 10 games. Michalek, with a goal and six points, has been effective at both ends of the ice and makes pinpoint passes.It didn&rsquo;t take long for Michalek to get promoted to top-line duty. He&rsquo;s strong on his skates, fast, smart and doesn&rsquo;t get intimidated. Michalek had to overcome a difficult 19-month stretch when he suffered a serious knee injury in his second NHL game. He needed three surgeries and lengthy rehabilitation, but he&rsquo;s 100 per cent now.NOTEBOOK Right winger Nils Ekman was a healthy scratch Oct. 26 in Dallas, snapping a streak of 91 consecutive regular season appearances&hellip;Center Marcel Goc was foiled on his first career penalty shot by Dallas goalie Marty Turco in that game&hellip;Goalie Nolan Schaefer made his NHL debut with a relief appearance in Dallas.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Hannan 25:40D McLaren 23:00F Marleau 19:38F Cheechoo 18:11F Sturm 17:37ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0027-02

Toskala takes reins after Nabokov hurt

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TOM JONES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04418/8679311-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="267" height="224"></div>John Tortorella drives his players as hard as any coach in the NHL. But mess with one of his boys and he&rsquo;ll be the first over the wall.Such was the case when rookie defenseman Paul Ranger was given a concussion and hairline jaw fracture from an elbow by Atlanta&rsquo;s Eric Boulton near the end of a 6-0 Tampa win Oct. 20.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03589/8679318-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="210" height="224"><figcaption class="caption-body">TAMPA BAYLIGHTNING</figcaption></div>Tortorella exploded after the game in an expletive-filled tirade, accusing Boulton of trying to injure Ranger and claiming the Thrasher belonged in the ECHL.The next day, Tortorella apologized for making comments specifically about Boulton, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean all was forgiven.&ldquo;It was cheap,&rdquo; Tortorella said. &ldquo;There is no honor in it.&rdquo;Boulton was suspended six games, while Ranger ended up missing just one game. Ranger said Boulton called him afterward and apologized.NEWCOMER IMPACT The Lightning&rsquo;s newcomer is actually a familiar face. Vinny Prospal rejoined the Bolts after a season in Anaheim and hasn&rsquo;t missed a beat.Prospal led the Lightning with 79 points in 2002-03 before leaving as a free agent. He rejoined the Lightning in the summer of 2004.Showing his old magic with Vinny Lecavalier is still there, the two Vinnys scored 10 of the Lightning&rsquo;s first 24 goals of the season, usually assisting on each other&rsquo;s goals. The line, which also includes Ruslan Fedotenko, has been the team&rsquo;s best so far.NOTEBOOK Center Vinny Lecavalier played his 476th game Oct. 21, passing Rob Zamuner&rsquo;s team-record 475&hellip;Rookie defenseman Paul Ranger, called up after four games, has been one of the team&rsquo;s steadiest defensemen.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Kubina 23:49D Boyle 22:35F Richards 22:24F St-Louis 20:29F Lecavalier 19:20ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0027-04

Tortorella defends team, blasts Boulton

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-06206/8679349-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="267" height="225"></div>Brian Leetch of the Boston Bruins figures he knows a Norris Trophy candidate when he sees one. Leetch believes his former defense partner Bryan McCabe has what it takes to be the NHL&rsquo;s top defenseman.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05281/8679356-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="215" height="233"><figcaption class="caption-body">TORONTOMAPLE LEAFS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I think he can win the Norris Trophy and he&rsquo;s the best player I&rsquo;ve played with in my career as a partner,&rdquo; Leetch said.It was pretty difficult to argue with him through the first nine games of the season. Going into late October, McCabe was tied with Jaromir Jagr for the scoring lead in the NHL with three goals and 15 points in just nine games. McCabe was a large reason why the Maple Leafs had the best power play in the NHL, with all three of his goals and seven of his 12 assists coming with the man advantage.McCabe was also second in the league to defense partner Tomas Kaberle in average ice time. He&rsquo;ll have to improve his plusminus if he wants to win the Norris, however. He was minus-1 and it&rsquo;s believed no minus player has ever won the Norris Trophy.NEWCOMER IMPACT Nobody in the hockey world thought Eric Lindros would have the overwhelmingly positive impact he had with Toronto in the early going.After watching Mats Sundin go down with a serious eye injury seven minutes into the season, Lindros stepped in admirably and was thriving in all situations. Playing primarily on a line between Chad Kilger and Tie Domi, Lindros had seven goals and 10 points in nine games and another goal in a shootout.NOTEBOOK Captain Mats Sundin will not require surgery on his fractured orbital bone, but he&rsquo;s not expected to be back in the lineup until mid-November at the earliest.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Kaberle 29:01D McCabe 28:53F Lindros 19:22F Allison 18:45F O&rsquo;Neill 17:43ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0027-06

Praise for McCabe comes gushing in

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ELLIOTT PAP</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-08142/8679387-1-eng-US/f0027-082.jpg" title="f0027-08" width="267" height="225"></div>The NHL&rsquo;s post-lockout world has injected new life into the career of defenseman Nolan Baumgartner.Drafted 10th overall by Washington in 1994, Baumgartner was never able to make it as a regular until this season when the Canucks dealt Brent Sopel to the Islanders.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-07169/8679394-1-eng-US/f0027-072.jpg" title="f0027-07" width="209" height="231"><figcaption class="caption-body">VANCOUVERCANUCKS</figcaption></div>The Sopel trade created a vacancy for a right-shot blueliner and Baumgartner won the audition. In nine professional seasons, the Calgary native had suited up for just 48 NHL games and another 518 in the American League.&ldquo;Obviously I&rsquo;ve learned a lot over the years,&rdquo; Baumgartner said. &ldquo;I got a lot of ice time in the minors and saw a lot of different situations. I think that was big in preparing me if this time ever did come.&rdquo;Coach Marc Crawford felt Baumgartner exceeded expectations in the first month of the season.NEWCOMER IMPACT Right winger Richard Park appeared to be another one of Jacques Lemaire&rsquo;s robots in Minnesota, a small player who could fit into the Wild&rsquo;s ultra-disciplined trap system.With Vancouver, Park is proving to be something else. The 29-year-old-year, who signed as a free agent, has adapted well to Crawford&rsquo;s uptempo style and appears headed for a career year. Park has some nice offensive skills that become more apparent with each outing in a Vancouver uniform.NOTEBOOK Right winger Trevor Linden, the NHL Players&rsquo; Association president, began the season with an eight-game pointless streak before netting a goal and an assist against Colorado on Oct. 22&hellip;The Canucks opened the home portion of their schedule a perfect 5-0-0, outscoring opponents 23-12.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Salo 25:47D Jovanovski 25:15F Morrison 20:22F Naslund 19:42F Bertuzzi 19:03ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0027-08

Baumgartner thrives as full-time NHLer

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAVE FAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-10100/8679425-1-eng-US/f0027-102.jpg" title="f0027-10" width="267" height="225"></div>The Capitals have filed suit in U.S. District Court to force Russian left winger Alexander Semin to honor his contract.The Caps are suing Semin, his agent Mark Gandler and the agent&rsquo;s firm, hoping to force Semin to honor the last two years of the contract he signed in 2003.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-09117/8679432-1-eng-US/f0027-092.jpg" title="f0027-09" width="212" height="229"><figcaption class="caption-body">WASHINGTONCAPITALS</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We have done everything we could to avoid this step,&rdquo; said GM George McPhee. &ldquo;We felt we had no choice but to seek a legal remedy.&rdquo;Semin played 52 games for the Caps in 2003-04 and was ordered to report to Portland (AHL) during the lockout. Semin maintained he had military obligations, but he played a full season for Lada Togliatti.The Caps suspended Semin a year ago, but the Russian Super League refuses to honor it.NEWCOMER&nbsp;IMPACT The new NHL rules have had a strange effect on Washington winger Ben Clymer. He&rsquo;s now a defenseman. Clymer has alternated back and forth throughout his career; Tampa used him as a forward because he was small, while Washington moved him to defense for the same reason.The new rules &ndash; which favor fast, skilled skaters and punish those who clutch and grab &ndash; convinced the Caps the free agent was better-suited on the blueline.&ldquo;I love to win, so wherever I can contribute the most, that&rsquo;s OK with me,&rdquo; Clymer said.NOTEBOOK The Caps&rsquo; Oct. 29 game in Florida was postponed by Hurricane Wilma. No makeup date was immediately announced&hellip;Left winger Alexander Ovechkin&rsquo;s eight-game point streak ended Oct. 22&hellip;In consecutive games against Florida and Carolina, the Caps allowed a combined 52 shots in the second periods alone.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2>D Heward 26:14D Witt 23:51F Halpern 20:01F Ovechkin 18:10F Zubrus 18:03ICE TIME LEADERS &#9632;

f0027-10

Caps going to court to bring back Semin

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011101/8679501-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="90" height="90"></div>As draft day approached in 2003, Steve Bernier made the usual interview rounds, speaking with everyone but the San Jose Sharks. Bernier had no clue where he was going. He just figured it wouldn&rsquo;t be northern California.So who drafts him 16th overall? The Sharks, of course.San Jose liked what they saw: a raw youngster with size, ability and desire. They like what they see now, too: a first-year pro right winger who has sculpted off the baby fat, improved his skating and grown into the power forward role.&ldquo;He has a good shot, quick hands and good hockey sense,&rdquo; said Cleveland Barons coach Roy Sommer of the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02740/8679494-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="208" height="335"><figcaption class="caption-body">STEVEBERNIER</figcaption></div>&ldquo;He goes to the net and stays at the net, which a lot of guys don&rsquo;t do. He&rsquo;s the full deal.&rdquo;There had been some question about Bernier&rsquo;s skating, but there shouldn&rsquo;t be anymore. &ldquo;He gets around fine,&rdquo; Sommer said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be watching the tape and someone will zip by up the wing and I&rsquo;ll say, &lsquo;Who was that?&rsquo; It&rsquo;s Bernier.&rdquo;The 20-year-old native of Vanier, Que., opened his pro career with two goals and four points in four games. He&rsquo;ll be expected to bang bodies in the corner and score, which he did often in four Quebec League seasons with the Moncton Wildcats. He had 151 goals and 313 points in 271 QMJHL games, plus 13 goals and 36 points in 32 playoff games the past two springs.&ldquo;I know I have to play good defensively, score goals, finish hits and create space for my teammates,&rdquo; Bernier said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t put pressure on myself to score. I just get in front of the net and get some rebounds.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0029-02

Baron Bernier maturing into force

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03513/8679553-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="262" height="262"></div>Through his first three pro seasons, Jason Pominville has become very well known in the American League for his slapshot.The focal point of the Rochester Americans&rsquo; power play, Pominville has scored 33 power play goals over the past two seasons.But never has his bullet shot been more deadly than it was against the Cleveland Barons Oct. 21. Pominville entered the Amerks record book by scoring five goals &ndash; four on the power play &ndash; in an 8-4 victory.In the previous 49 years of Amerks hockey, only Dave Hynes&nbsp;(Jan. 17, 1975) and Donald Audette (Oct. 29, 1989) found the net five times.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to be part of history,&rdquo; said Pominville, who scored on every shot he took.&ldquo;Odds are, if you get it to him, he&rsquo;ll find the net,&rdquo; said linemate Chris Taylor, who also entered the team record book with six assists.PURE SCORER Rookie center Geoff Platt is proving the 45 goals he scored last season for Erie in the Ontario League were no fluke.Platt scored six goals in five games for the Syracuse Crunch, including a hat trick Oct. 22 against Rochester.The 5-foot-9 Platt was never drafted, but earned an AHL/ECHL contract with Syracuse after a strong showing as an invitee to training camp in Columbus.&ldquo;He was sort of a late invite to rookie camp, but he kept scoring so we had to keep him,&rdquo; said Crunch coach Gary Agnew.NOTEBOOK Rookie winger Roman Voloshenko scored four goals as the Houston Aeros thumped the Grand Rapids Griffins 7-3 Oct. 21&hellip;San Antonio signed defenseman Drake Berehowsky to a 25-game tryout.Berehowsky, 33, has played 549 NHL games for six different teams&hellip;The Robinson family, owners of Cincinnati Gardens, say they&rsquo;ll operate an AHL franchise next season &ndash; they&rsquo;ve already chosen RailRiders as the nickname &ndash; if they can sell 2,000 season tickets. The Mighty Ducks ceased operations last spring after eight years in Cincinnati&hellip;With the parent Atlanta Thrashers desperate for goaltending, the Chicago Wolves signed veteran Steve Shields to a tryout contract&hellip;When Syracuse&rsquo;s Pascal Leclaire was injured Oct. 22 in warmup, backup Andrew Penner was pressed into his first start of the season and stopped 41 shots in a 6-3 win over Rochester.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04371/8679546-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="1032" height="1560"><figcaption class="caption-body">Two-time AHL 30-goal scorer Jason Pominville is well on his way to a career season after a torrid start with Rochester. (CLAUS ANDERSEN//GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05305/8679539-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="108" height="206"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>HOCKEY NATION AT A GLANCE</h2>The International Ice Hockey Federation is the world&rsquo;s governing body for hockey. In each issue this season, we profile some of the 64 national association members.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-06247/8679532-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="530" height="267"></div><h3>AUSTRALIA</h3>Member of IIHF since&nbsp;1938Population 20,090,437Registered players&nbsp;2,404Ice facilities&nbsp;20Major league (six teams)2005 champ&nbsp;West Sydney2004-05 top scorersMartin Jesko, West SydneySean Starke, NewcastleJohn Heinen, West SydneyAssociation website <a href="http://www.iha.org.au">www.iha.org.au</a>Head office&nbsp;CanberraOfficial language&nbsp;English2005 world ranking&nbsp;No. 34Best world rank&nbsp;No. 9 (1960) &#9632;

f0029-03

Pominville’s power point presentation

<div class="byline">BY MIKE MASTOVICH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-07199/8679584-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="238" height="232"></div>Brandon Coalter plans to fight fires once he leaves the ice.The third-year Florida Everblades left winger graduated from the Fort Myers Fire Academy&rsquo;s 15-week course in October and hopes to be a firefighter in Florida after his retirement at season&rsquo;s end.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve always wanted to do,&rdquo; said Coalter to the News-Press in Fort Myers.&ldquo;Just the camaraderie and being part of a team was interesting. Being a firefighter is like being on a hockey team. You&rsquo;re never doing something alone. You&rsquo;re always doing it with partners. You never go into a fire by yourself.&rdquo;Two of Coalter&rsquo;s uncles have been firefighters in Toronto for more than 30 years.Former Everblades captain Matt Pagnutti also graduated from the fire academy class.Last season, Florida honored Coalter with a sportsmanship award, the first-ever individual award in team history.RAIN (AND WIND) DELAY Florida&rsquo;s first two home games were postponed due to the threat of Hurricane Wilma. Eaarlier this season, both the Mississippi Sea Wolves and Texas Wildcatters suspended operations after the destruction of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Wildcatters coach Tony&nbsp;McAulay has taken an assistant coaching job with Trenton for the season, where he will become coach next year.LEMIEUX ON ECHL ICE After 18 NHL seasons and four Stanley Cups, Claude Lemieux came out of retirement to play for the new Phoenix RoadRunners team.Lemieux, the team president, played in the team&rsquo;s first Blue-White pre-season scrimmage before returning to his front office duties.Lemieux, 39, won Stanley Cups playing for Montreal (1986), New Jersey (1995, 2000) and Colorado (1996). He finished his career in eighth place on the NHL&rsquo;s all-time list with 80 career playoff goals. &#9632;

f0029-07

Everblade hopes to save Everglades

<div class="byline">BY PHIL JANACK</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-308/8679622-1-eng-US/f0030-302.jpg" title="f0030-30" width="90" height="90"></div>In a different year, Ryan Whitney might already find himself in the NHL.Instead, with the Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; blueline clogged by several players on one-way contracts, the highly regarded defenseman begins his second pro season where the last one ended: in the minors.&ldquo;It was my first (NHL) training camp,&rdquo; said Whitney, drafted fifth overall in 2002 out of Boston University. &ldquo;I had a good camp, but it&rsquo;s just the situation I&rsquo;m in. There was almost nothing I could do.&rdquo;The 22-year-old Boston native has not let the demotion affect his play. Whitney led AHL blueliners with six assists and eight points, as Wilkes-Barre got off to a 4-0-0 start.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011246/8679615-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="208" height="335"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYANWHITNEY</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I thought it was important I come down here and not sulk or whine,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to improve every day and give myself a chance at getting called up at some point.&rdquo;Pittsburgh&rsquo;s top-rated defense prospect, ranked 35th overall in The Hockey News Future Watch 2005, Whitney bulked up his 6-foot-4, 202-pound frame this summer.Last season, he led AHL rookie defensemen with 35 assists and was fourth with 41 points, good enough to rank 16th among all D-men. His assist total was fourth among AHL rookies. In the playoffs, Whitney had seven assists and nine points in 11 games, as Wilkes-Barre upset the Binghamton Senators in the first round before falling to the eventual Calder Cup-champion Philadelphia Phantoms in the second. His plus-2 was one of only five positive ratings on the team.&ldquo;I pretty much know the offense is always going to be there. It&rsquo;s part of my game,&rdquo; Whitney said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve started concentrating on playing solid and consistent defensively.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0030-01

Top prospect Whitney bides his time

<div class="byline">BY PHIL JANACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02832/8679674-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="261" height="261"></div>Brad Bombardir&rsquo;s stay in Springfield was a short one.The 33-year-old journeyman defenseman suffered an injury to his right knee in his Falcons debut, which came only four days after he signed a 25-game tryout agreement.Making his first American League appearance since 1998, Bombardir said his skate caught a rut in the ice as he was being checked into the boards against Hartford, twisting his knee. He was unsure how long he would be out, but didn&rsquo;t sound optimistic. &ldquo;If it is what it is, then the whole season&rsquo;s done,&rdquo; he said.Bombardir returned home to Minnesota, but remains under contract. The parent Tampa Bay Lightning paid his medical tab.&ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t have to do that,&rdquo; Bombardir said. &ldquo;I was part of the organization for a week. They&rsquo;ve just been unbelievable.&rdquo;After 194 AHL games with the Albany River Rats, where he won a Calder Cup in 1995, Bombardir skated in 356 NHL games, winning a Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2000.After his injury, the Lightning recalled second-year defenseman Paul Ranger.MURPHY&rsquo;S LAW Two games into his third season with the Philadelphia Phantoms, veteran winger Mark Murphy left to play with HIFK Helsinki in the Finnish Elite League.He had 31 goals and 83 points in 147 regular season games for Philadelphia, and was one of the team&rsquo;s top returning scorers from a year ago. Murphy joins former AHL scoring champion Peter White in Helsinki.To replace Murphy, the Phantoms signed former Houston captain Dan Cavanaugh. SQUEAKY CLEAN In a franchise first, Hershey players are having their equipment sanitized this season.Washington Capitals equipment manager Doug Shearer, who formerly worked for the Bears, made the suggestion in an effort to reduce the risk of bacterial infections.NOTEBOOK After using only two goalies all of last season, Hartford used three &ndash; rookies Al Montoya, Chris Holt and Bernd Bruckler&nbsp;&ndash; in its first three games&hellip;Entering its 12th season, Springfield opened with back-to-back wins for the first time&hellip;Center Erik Christensen had successive four-point nights in wins over Binghamton and Bridgeport, as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton improved to 7-0-0 to start the season.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03601/8679667-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="1033" height="1559"><figcaption class="caption-body">After pro seasons of 18, 27 and 55 points, winger Colby Armstrong is on a point-per-game pace for Wilkes-Barre. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04432/8679660-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="110" height="205"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>HOCKEY NATION AT A GLANCE</h2>The International Ice Hockey Federation is the world&rsquo;s governing body for hockey. In each issue this season, we profile some of the 64 national association members.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05322/8679653-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="599" height="293"></div><h3>AUSTRIA</h3>Member of IIHF since&nbsp;1912Population 8,184,691Registered players&nbsp;9,007Ice facilities&nbsp;24Major league (seven teams)2005 champ&nbsp;Vienna Capitals2004-05 top scorersMike Craig, ViennaRon Chyzowski, Vienna Bob Wren, ViennaAssociation website <a href="http://www.eishockey.at">www.eishockey.at</a>Head office&nbsp;ViennaOfficial language&nbsp;German2005 world ranking&nbsp;No. 13Best world rank&nbsp;No. 3 (1947) &#9632;

f0030-02

Bombardir grounded in comeback

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRENDAN SAVAGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06256/8679705-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="172" height="88"></div>Well-traveled veteran forward Brent Gretzky will be playing this season with his fifth United League team after being the property of three teams in one day. Gretzky, 33, started Oct. 19 with the Quad City Mallards, was dealt to the Port Huron Flags for cash, then traded later that day to the Motor City Mechanics for center Aaron Brand. Motor City will be the 12th minor league stop in 14 pro seasons for Gretzky, who played 13 NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1993-95. He had 13 goals and 38 points in 37 games for Danbury last season. Brand, who lives across the border in Sarnia, was Port Huron&rsquo;s top scorer last season with 31 goals and 82 points in 80 games. He was traded from Roanoke to Motor City before landing back in Port Huron. &#9632;

f0030-06

NOTEBOOK

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAVID HENRY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-07210/8679736-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="155" height="88"></div>It didn&rsquo;t take much to reunite Kahlil Thomas and Jamaal Magloire &ndash; just perhaps the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. The childhood friends who grew up in Toronto are back together in, of all places, Oklahoma City this season. Thomas is a defenseman for the Oklahoma City Blazers. Magloire rejoined his old friend when the NBA&rsquo;s New Orleans Hornets relocated to Oklahoma City following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita&hellip;The Central League added 33-year veteran NHL linesman Ray Scapinello as a supervisor for officiating staff, while NHL officials Don Koharski, Wes McCauley, Dan Schachte and Ryan Galloway trained CHL officials on new rules during a pre-season training camp in Dallas. &#9632;

f0030-07

<div class="byline">&#x2013; NICK GATES</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-08174/8679767-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="124" height="96"></div>Yugo Hagiwara and Hironori Kobayashi of Japan were among Fayetteville&rsquo;s final cuts. They were longshots to make the FireAntz, but not Sean Edwards, a 15-goal scorer last season who also got axed. Coach Derek Booth told the Fayetteville Observer that Edwards was a victim of finances. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not fair to ask him to play for $200 (a week),&rdquo; Booth said. Hagiwara and Kobayashi learned about the camp from countryman Nobumasa Kinugasa, who played with Asheville and Winston-Salem last season. The duo hopped a plane for the 17-hour flight to North Carolina. Hagiwara played 24 games last season in Alberta for the Millet Thunder of the Sr. A Chinook League. &ldquo;You never know where you&rsquo;re going to find a diamond in the rough,&rdquo; Booth said. &#9632;</div>

f0030-08

<div class="byline">BY NEIL HODGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02757/8679805-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="244" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body">QUEBECLEAGUE</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011147/8679812-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="213" height="115"></div>It&rsquo;s a turnaround of titanic proportion. The worst team in the Quebec League the past two seasons, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan were No. 1 in the Canadian Hockey League rankings in late October.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not really surprised by our success,&rdquo; said coach Mario Durocher, whose club was leading the QMJHL at 12-2-0-2. &ldquo;We had good young kids who played a lot and gained experience the past two seasons. Now, it&rsquo;s paying off.&ldquo;We missed (high-scoring forward) Thomas Beauregard for all of last season due to injury. It makes a big difference having him back and the trades to get (forwards) Petr Pohl and Olivier Labelle&nbsp;from Gatineau. We were last in offense last season. We have a lot more depth now.&rdquo;Pohl, selected 133rd overall by Columbus in 2004, and Labelle were tied for second in Titan scoring with 27 points in 15 games. Labelle had a team-leading 15 goals.&ldquo;Labelle is playing hard as an overager trying to get invited as a free agent to a pro camp next year,&rdquo; Durocher said. &ldquo;Pohl is working for a contract. The guys we brought in have something to prove. Everyone has the feeling this team has something to prove. The first thing we talked about in camp is respect. Everyone here is really hungry.&rdquo;MORE TO PROVE Chicoutimi Sagueneens left winger Maxime Boisclair got off to a torrid start and was leading the QMJHL scoring race with 37 points, including 20 goals, in 15 games.&ldquo;For sure, he&rsquo;s been our team MVP so far,&rdquo; said Chicoutimi coach Richard Martel.Boisclair, 20, hasn&rsquo;t been drafted by an NHL team. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound forward attended Tampa Bay&rsquo;s camp as a free agent this year, but wasn&rsquo;t happy with his performance.&ldquo;They put me at center and I&rsquo;m not used to that position,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I really showed what I can do. I hope to get invited to another pro camp next year.&rdquo;BIG TICKET Approaching the schedule&rsquo;s one-quarter mark, the QMJHL was on pace to draw 1,926,794 fans this season. The league record of 1,872,144 was set last season.Average per-game attendance was 3,441 through five weeks compared to 3,343 for all of last season.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03568/8679798-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="267" height="226"></div>G. LatendresseHt: 6-1 Wt: 216GP G A Pts8 6 5 11NHL rights: Montreal Canadiens, RW, 45th overall in 2005Drummondville &#9632;

f0031-02

Increased offense key to Titan wins

<div class="byline">BY JIM CRESSMAN</div>The early numbers are in and the new standard of rule enforcement is achieving a similar result in the Ontario League as it is in the NHL &ndash; more goals are being scored.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04433/8679850-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="288" height="98"><figcaption class="caption-body">ONTARIOLEAGUE</figcaption></div>The OHL has had an increase of 1.76 goals per game through the first month of the schedule. And while penalty totals are up, the average length of a game has come down slightly, from two hours and 19 minutes last season to two hours, 16 minutes.A game in London between the Knights and Oshawa Generals was played in two hours, three minutes. &ldquo;I think with the other rules &ndash; such as the tag-up offside and delay of game penalty for shooting the puck off the playing surface &ndash; that all speaks to a better flow to the game,&rdquo; said OHL director of operations Ted Baker.DRAWING SUPPORT Hockey Canada lauded the OHL for its stance on hazing that saw Windsor coach-GM Moe Mantha suspended and the team fined. Four rookies were ordered by other players to strip and stand in the washroom at the rear of the bus, as the Spits returned from an exhibition game in London Oct. 9. &ldquo;Hockey Canada believes in a safe environment for all players and commends commissioner Dave Branch and the OHL for its stance,&rdquo; said Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson.&ldquo;It is essential that we continue to educate administrators, coaches, parents, players, staff and volunteers on the negative effects of hazing.&rdquo;Hockey Canada established the Speak Out Program in 1997 to provide training, education and awareness of abuse and hazing through workshops and resource materials.FILLING IN Assistant coaches Bill Bowler&nbsp;and D.J. Smith, both former Spitfire players, will act as co-coaches in Windsor until Mantha returns Feb. 3 from his 40-game suspension.The Spitfires also were expected to name former Sarnia Sting GM and current Windsor scout as Terry Doran&nbsp;as interim GM. Mantha was suspended from performing GM duties for the balance of the regular season plus playoffs.SPECIAL PLAYER In this day and age, where special teams are dominating the game at all levels, Oshawa Generals 15-year-old rookie John Tavares&nbsp;had 12 goals in 12 games &ndash; 10 at even strength, tops in the league in that department.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05340/8679843-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="267" height="226"></div>Jakub KindlHt: 6-2 Wt: 199GP&nbsp;G A Pts11 1 7 8NHL rights: Detroit Red Wings, D, 19th overall in 2005Kitchener &#9632;

f0031-04

New rules create faster pace in OHL

<div class="byline">BY ROB VANSTONE</div>Dave Lowry was able to move into a new career without moving his family.Lowry, who concluded a 19-season NHL career with the 2003-04 Calgary Flames, remains in the organization as a first-year assistant with the Western League&rsquo;s Calgary Hitmen. The junior franchise is owned by the Flames.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06277/8679888-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="283" height="215"><figcaption class="caption-body">WESTERNLEAGUE</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It was a perfect fit,&rdquo; said Lowry, 40. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got one kid graduating high school and to be part of an organization like the Hitmen, this is a perfect place to start.&rdquo;Lowry is an assistant to coach-GM Kelly Kisio&nbsp;&ndash; another longtime NHLer.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve known all along that whenever I was done as a player I wanted to stay in the game in some capacity,&rdquo; said Lowry, who had 164 goals and 351 points in 1,084 games as a left winger.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve really enjoyed coaching. I enjoy working with young guys and I enjoy sharing the knowledge.&rdquo;As a seasoned pro, Lowry is accustomed to seeing things done the right way. But he does not find it difficult to adjust his expectations now that he is dealing with developing players.&ldquo;Mistakes are part of the process,&rdquo; Lowry said. &ldquo;I think you can still put the same demands on these kids. These guys all want to be professionals, so the sooner they start to be treated like professionals the easier the transition is for them.&ldquo;The one thing you can place demands on is hard work and for them to come to work every day and to learn.&rdquo;ALARM BELLS The Ontario League&rsquo;s hazing incident, involving the Windsor Spitfires, has sent reverberations across major junior hockey.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a major concern that it happened in this day and age of the game,&rdquo; said WHL commissioner Ron Robison. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve progressed so much I thought these were really issues of yesterday &ndash; not today. It&rsquo;s rather alarming, to say the least.&rdquo;AIR WAVES The increased flow in WHL games has created a minor problem for broadcasters. With fewer stoppages in play, it is more difficult to make room for commercials.Therefore, the league has added a one-minute timeout midway through each period to allow time for radio and television advertisements.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-07233/8679881-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="267" height="226"></div>Tyler PlanteHt: 6-2 Wt: 191W-L-OTL SP4-7-1 .898NHL rights: Florida Panthers, G, 32nd overall in 2005Brandon &#9632;

f0031-06

Lowry’s pro attitude big hit in Calgary

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PAUL SHAHEEN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-08191/8679919-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="156" height="119"></div>Fargo-Moorhead rookie forward Alec&nbsp;Holen wasn&rsquo;t burning up the North American League in the season&rsquo;s opening month (two points in seven games), but he&rsquo;ll surely have an impact on a team that went 10-0-0 to start the season.From Thief River Falls, Minn., the 5-foot-9, 165-pound Holen came to the Jets via Lincoln High School. Last year, he put up 30 goals and 72 points in just 28 high school games, ninth-best in the state of Minnesota. Holen has speed to burn and once he has the puck, he can easily fly by opponents.But he isn&rsquo;t afraid to play the body, either.&ldquo;He may not be that big, but he&rsquo;s built like a brick,&rdquo; said Scott Bergland, Holen&rsquo;s coach at Lincoln H.S. and the brother of former NHLer Tim Bergland. &ldquo;Alec may be short, but he doesn&rsquo;t play a small man&rsquo;s game.&rdquo;Through the opening 10 games the Jets had four scorers with 13 points, including 1987-born Duluth native Chris Connolly. &#9632;

f0031-08

NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY PHILIP COLVIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011223/8679995-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="288" height="105"><figcaption class="caption-body">CENTRALCOLLEGIATE</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-08197/8680002-1-eng-US/f0032-082.jpg" title="f0032-08" width="93" height="93"></div>New Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson returns to college hockey with some impressive credentials. Jackson spent six seasons coaching Lake Superior State and led the Lakers to two Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season titles, four CCHA playoff titles and two NCAA national championships in the early 1990s.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>After spending four seasons coaching the U.S. national team development program, four seasons with Guelph in the Ontario League and two as an assistant with the New York Islanders, Jackson was hired to turn around a Fighting Irish team that won just three CCHA games last season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to be back,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;I have always looked at Notre Dame as a sleeping giant as far as the hockey program goes and I am hoping to be part of the wake-up call.&rdquo;After both confidence and goal-scoring hit rock bottom last year, Jackson quickly made clear the mantra for his new team: show discipline, outwork your opponent, look forward and don&rsquo;t look back.DRAFT WATCH 2006 Michigan&rsquo;s Mark Mitera has an impressive skill package for a first-year CCHA defenseman.Big, physical and competitive, Mitera throws open-ice hits with abandon, is agile enough to stay with speedy forwards down low and can find a streaking teammate with a long pass through the neutral zone.Mitera is getting a regular shift, plus work on the special teams, for a Wolverines team off to its best start (4-0-1) since 1996-97.A potential first-rounder in the 2006 NHL draft, Mitera offers a combination of physical tools, nasty disposition and offensive upside. He&rsquo;s rated 37th by International Scouting Services for the draft.NOTEBOOK Miami opened the CCHA season by bussing 1,412 miles and completing their first-ever road sweep of Nebraska-Omaha. RedHawks senior all-America defenseman &nbsp;Andy Greene scored twice in a 6-3 win Oct. 21. Freshman goalie Jeff Zatkoff stopped 25 shots in a 3-2 win over the Mavericks the next night.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05330/8679988-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="279" height="166"></div>Top PlayerT.J. HensickGP G A PT5 2 8 10<h2>MICHIGAN</h2>WOLVERINES<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-06277/8679981-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="196" height="73"></div>Ann Arbor, Mich.Arena Yost Ice Arena (6,607)Coach Red Berenson, 22nd yr.NCAA Titles Nine2004-05 roster breakdownU.S.-born 19 (13 Mich., 2 Minn.)Cdn.-born 4 (2 Ont., 1 Alta.)Latest NHL draft picksT.J. Hensick, 88th, Col, &rsquo;05Al Montoya, 6th, NYR, &rsquo;04Mike Brown, 159th, Van, &rsquo;04 &#9632;

f0032-01

Coach hoping to wake Irish from slumber

<div class="byline">BY LARRY MAHONEY</div>Vermont goalie Joe Fallonis loving life in Hockey East.The Eastern College Athletic Conference&rsquo;s rookie of the year in 2004-05, Fallon has made a smooth transition to the more competitive Hockey East this season. And Vermont transferring conferences this year is what attracted him to the Catamounts in the first place. &ldquo;The move to Hockey East was probably the biggest reason I came to Vermont,&rdquo; Fallon said. &ldquo;I felt playing against (Boston College) and (Boston University) and the other big teams would be exciting.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02812/8680033-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="297" height="140"><figcaption class="caption-body">HOCKEYEAST</figcaption></div>Fallon spent two years with Cedar Rapids in the United States League before advancing to the ECAC last season. He was named top rookie among New England Div. I schools, as chosen by New England hockey writers.Fallon, 20, had a 17-10-4 record a year ago with a 1.96 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in the ECAC. He was 4-0-0, with a 1.25 GAA and .935 save percentage in four Hockey East games this season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking to put up similar numbers,&rdquo; said the 6-foot-3, 200-pound sixth round draft pick of Chicago. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll probably get more shots in Hockey East.&rdquo;NHL PROSPECT WATCH Maine senior right winger and captain Greg Moore&nbsp;&ndash; a fifth round draft choice of Calgary whose rights were traded to the New York Rangers &ndash; has emerged as an elite player, according to coach Tim Whitehead.&ldquo;He has gone from a good player to a great player,&rdquo; Whitehead said. &ldquo;Moore has always been exceptional defensively.&rdquo;Whitehead said Moore has become a much more consistent point-producer. He had four goals and seven points in Maine&rsquo;s first six games.NOTEBOOK Providence sophomore goalie Tyler Sims provided first-year coach Tim Army with back-to-back shutouts in their first two games, making 43 saves in 3-0 and 4-0 wins over Mass-Lowell. It was Providence&rsquo;s first back-to-back shutouts since 1976&hellip;Northeastern&rsquo;s crowd of 5,402 during a 1-1 tie with Boston College Oct. 22 was its first in excess of 5,000 since 1995. &#9632;

f0032-02

Fallon enjoying Vermont’s move to Hockey East

<div class="byline">BY TOM BOGGIE</div>One of the things St. Lawrence coach JoeMarsh liked about his team this season was his young defensemen. Now he&rsquo;ll be seeing even more of them.Junior Drew Bagnall, who was expected to anchor the defensive corps, will be out until after Christmas after severing four tendons in his right thumb.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03590/8680078-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="262" height="110"><figcaption class="caption-body">EASTERNCOLLEGE</figcaption></div>The injury occurred in the Saints&rsquo; 2-1 win over Massachusetts Oct. 14.&ldquo;There was a pileup in front of the net and someone&rsquo;s skate came right down on his hand,&rdquo; Marsh said. &ldquo;(Defenseman) Mike Madill&rsquo;s father knows the Montreal team doctor and they set him up with a hand specialist who did the surgery. The prognosis is good.&rdquo;The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder, whose rights are held by Florida, had seven goals and 19 points in 37 games as a sophomore and was a key member of the Saints power play.While freshmen Shawn Fensel, Jared Ross and Zach Miskovic are playing regular shifts on defense, highly touted Matt Generous had yet to get on the ice because of an ankle sprain. Generous was a seventh round pick of the Buffalo Sabres last summer.NHL PROSPECT WATCH Colgate senior center Kyle Wilson may turn out to be the biggest steal of the 2004 draft.Wilson, 21, only scored five goals in 30 games last season after being hampered by a foot injury in January. But this season, he has six goals in four games, including his first career hat trick.The 6-foot-1, 202-pounder, drafted 272nd overall by Minnesota in 2004, is one of the most creative centers in the ECAC.NOTEBOOK RPI coach Dan Fridgen picked up his 200th career victory when the Engineers blanked Army 4-0 Oct. 23. The game was also a memorable one for freshman goalie Mathias Lange, who got his first career shutout&hellip; Engineers tri-captain Kirk MacDonald, recovering from testicular cancer, announced he&rsquo;ll sit out the entire 2005-06 season and apply for a medical hardship from the NCAA so he can play in 2006-07.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-09164/8680071-1-eng-US/f0032-092.jpg" title="f0032-09" width="171" height="185"></div>Top PlayerO. BouchardGP G A PT4 4 4 8<h2>UNION</h2>DUTCHMEN<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-07229/8680064-1-eng-US/f0032-072.jpg" title="f0032-07" width="201" height="73"></div>Schenectady, N.Y.Arena Achilles Center (2,504)Coach Nate Leaman, 3rd yr.NCAA Tournaments None2005-06 roster breakdownU.S.-born 22 (7 N.Y., 5 Mass.)Cdn.-born 7 (3 Ont., 1 Sask.)Highest NHL draft picksSteve Baker, 44th, NYR, &rsquo;77Jim Baxter, 91st, Det, &rsquo;77Kip Churchill, 141st, Det, &rsquo;77 &#9632;

f0032-03

Injuries force Saints to rely on unproven ‘D’

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011102/8680182-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011241/8680175-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="3541" height="3541"></div><h2>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS</h2>Statistics provided by National Hockey League: PLAYER&ndash; listed by uniform number, position (F-forward; D-defenseman; G-goalie), name; GP&ndash;games played; G&ndash; goals; A&ndash;assists; P&ndash;points; +/-&ndash;plus/minus; PIM&ndash;penalty minutes; PP&ndash;power-play goals; SH&ndash;short-handed goals; GW&ndash;game-winning goals; S&ndash;shots; SP&ndash;shooting percentage; PPM&ndash; average powerplay minutes played per game; SHM&ndash;average shorthanded minutes played per game; MIN&ndash;average total minutes played per game. All times are expressed in minutes and seconds. Players indicated with an asterisk (*) are rookies eligible for the Calder Trophy.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011158/8680168-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="3546" height="3546"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011128/8680161-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="4492" height="3311"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011008/8680154-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="1070" height="846"><figcaption class="caption-body">Andrew Raycroft (RAYCROFT: SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02683/8680147-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="1070" height="846"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jason Labarbera (LABARBERA: SHELLY CASTELLANO)</figcaption></div><h2>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS</h2>Statistics provided by National Hockey League; Players are listed by uniform number, name, games played (GP), minutes played (Min), goals-against average (GAA), wins (W), losses (L), ties (T), empty-net goals (EN), shutouts (SO), goals against (GA), shots against (SA), save percentage (SP).<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03544/8680140-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="2220" height="2194"></div> &#9632;

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November 8, 2005

Motzko thinks St. Cloud State has right man

High-powered Preds don’t lack toughness

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