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.

March 4, 2008

The Hockey News - Mar-04-08

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012176/9184616-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Boston&rsquo;s Alex Auld stops Buffalo&rsquo;s Henrik Tallinder. <span class="photo-credit">(TALLINDER: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>HEN THE NHL INSTITUTED the shootout coming out of the lockout, it had visions of its greatest offensive superstars breaking ties in spectacular fashion and wowing fans with their abundant individual skills. Chances are, Joe Pavelski didn&rsquo;t exactly leap to mind for them at the time.</p><p>But lo and behold, almost three full seasons into the tiebreaker, the San Jose Sharks fourth-line center has emerged as the sharpest of the sharpshooters when it comes to the game-deciding skills competition.</p><p>Pavelski had scored on seven of 10 career shootout tries and his 70 percent success rate was best in the league with a minimum 10 shots.</p><p>In fact, the top of the career shootout list looked just a little strange, as did the bottom. Checking in at second was Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Erik Christensen who had 13 goals on 22 attempts (59.1 percent). Jussi Jokinen of Dallas was third at 58.6 percent with a league-leading 17 goals on 29 attempts.</p><p>Care to take a guess who was at the bottom? Well, none other than Minnesota sniper Marian Gaborik. With just one goal on 10 career shots, Gaborik might want to solicit some advice from shootout artist Mikko Koivu, who had scored on 12 of his 24 shots or even Wild defenseman Brent Burns, who was riding a 2-for-2 streak. Gaborik shared the ignominious status with Taylor Pyatt of the Vancouver Canucks, who was also 1-for-10.</p><p>It&rsquo;s a strange, really. Alexander Radulov of Nashville, one of the great individual talents in this league, was 0-for-6 this season. After scoring an exceptional 12 goals on 18 shots coming into this season, Paul Kariya of the St. Louis Blues had nothing to show for his five shots this year. Kariya must think every goalie this season is Tommy Salo, who stopped him on his memorable shootout attempt in the gold medal game of the 1994 Olympics.</p><p>Kariya and Radulov are far from the only elite players struggling in the shootout. Evgeni Malkin of Pittsburgh was 0-for-5 this season and was 3-for-17 (17.6 percent) over the course of his career, making him the third-worst career shooter in the NHL among players who have had 10 or more attempts. Other elite players who weren&rsquo;t shooting the red lights out this year were Ottawa&rsquo;s Dany Heatley (0-for-4), the Rangers&rsquo; Jaromir Jagr (0-for-4 this season, 5-for-21 career), Daniel Briere of Philadelphia (0-for-3 after going 8-for-18 the first two years) and Tampa&rsquo;s Martin St-Louis (0-for-3).</p><p>There were some young players who were showing some promise in the shootout. The Edmonton Oilers, who have been rescued from the depths of the league with their success in the shootout, have leaned on Sam Gagner, who had five goals on 14 shots and a couple of highlight-reel goals.</p><p>Patrick Kane of Chicago was 5-for-7 in shootouts. But probably the most unlikely of the young sharpshooters was Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who started this season in the minors, but was 4-for-6 in shootouts.</p><p>More surprising trivia? Defensive defenseman Henrik Tallinder is tied for second on the Sabres this season with one shootout goal.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THE STANDARDS

SHOOTOUT MADNESS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011186/9185525-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>WESTERN CONFERENCE</b></h2><h2><b>EASTERN CONFERENCE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011093/9185518-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="2194" height="2874"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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IN THIS ISSUE

DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04692/9184685-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="791" height="569"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>lexander Radulov&rsquo;s QMJHL career with the Quebec Remparts was so explosive, the team retired the 21-year-old&rsquo;s sweater earlier this season.</p><p>During his tenure, Radulov set franchise marks for goals, assists and points in a season, had an 11-point game and a 50-game point streak. Not bad.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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BACK OF THE CARD

<h3><b>ECHL</b></h3><h2><b>Gretz calls ECHL a great thing</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>harleston, S.C., provided a great getaway for The Great One. Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s Phoenix Coyotes practiced in Charleston before a recent game at Nashville. Gretzky talked about the ECHL&rsquo;s developmental role. &ldquo;There was a belief not so long ago that if you were 21 years old and hadn&rsquo;t played in the National Hockey League, it wasn&rsquo;t going to happen for you,&rdquo; said Gretzky to the Charleston <i>Post and Courier</i>. &ldquo;That attitude has changed. Now, you can be 24 or 25 and come out of the system and be effective in the (NHL)&hellip;Hopefully, there are guys that come from the ECHL and move up the chain. I think that gives other players hope.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; MIKE MASTOVICH</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01598/9185945-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="229" height="229"></div><h3><b>UNITED STATES LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Brothers in the Bay</b></h2><p>Next season, look for &ldquo;brothers in arms&rdquo; in Green Bay. The Gamblers already sport Jacob Johnstone &ndash; a 1990-born forward who&rsquo;s committed to Michigan Tech for 2009. And come this fall, most expect younger brother David to join him. David Johnstone, a 5-foot-11, 168-pound forward, is excelling while playing midget AAA hockey out of Kalamazoo, Mich. Draft-eligible in 2009, the 1991-born Johnstone has verbally committed to Michigan State for 2010. While his skills are still raw, observers like his upside. &ldquo;He has good vision,&rdquo; said one scout, &ldquo;and he knows how to create time and space for himself and his teammates.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; PAUL SHAHEEN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02364/9185938-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="229" height="229"></div><h3><b>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>New owners, building plans</b></h2><p>The owners of the Flint Generals are in negotiations to purchase Perani Arena and hope to have the deal completed by the end of the IHL season. The building is owned by Khaled M. Shukairy, who also owned the Generals before selling the team to the eight-man Perani Group last summer. The group includes Detroit Red Wing Kris Draper as well as Bob Perani, a hockey equipment mogul who bought the arena naming rights in 2003. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to get this done as quickly as possible,&rdquo; said Perani Group member Bob Dodge. The group hopes to buoy attendance with promotions and renovations to the 38-year-old building.</p><p><b>&ndash; BRENDAN SAVAGE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03269/9185931-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="229" height="229"></div><h3><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Goalie better than he thought</b></h2><p>Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs goalie John DeCaro thought he had tacked on only 40 seconds to the CHL record for consecutive shutout minutes. DeCaro broke the old mark of 222:01, set by Shawn Silver of Indianapolis during the 2002-03 season. However, another 43:11 was later added to DeCaro&rsquo;s streak when the league determined an overtime shootout goal against DeCaro in a January game should have been charged to the Mudbugs team, not the goalie himself&hellip; Stopper Mike Wall became the first graduate of the Arizona Sundogs to get the NHL call. The Colorado Avalanche summoned Wall from Lake Erie of the AHL in February.</p><p><b>&ndash; DAVID HENRY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-04213/9185924-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="229" height="229"></div><h3><b>SOUTHERN PRO LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Big blueliner keeps head up</b></h2><p>Nomadic defenseman Mark Vida keeps his bags packed and his chin up. The rookie was waived by the Fayetteville FireAntz, his fourth SPHL team of the season, but the 23-year-old from Mississaug a, Ont., was undaunted. &ldquo;Hockey is my life,&rdquo; Vida said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m ready to go to whoever needs me.&rdquo; The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Vida has a goal and eight points in 31 games this year. &ldquo;Obviously, I&rsquo;m not that bad a player,&rdquo; he said. Vida was released by Twin City, picked up by Richmond and traded to Knoxville, before signing a five-game tryout with Fayetteville. Next stop? &ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping to go to Huntsville,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve talked to the coach. I&rsquo;m not giving up.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; NICK GATES</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-05182/9185917-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="229" height="229"></div><h3><b>EYE ON EUROPE</b></h3><h2><b>Injury won&rsquo;t kill Kenny&rsquo;s hopes</b></h2><p>Kenny Jonsson has been playing in the Swedish Elite League since the NHL lockout. It didn&rsquo;t stop him from being elected best defenseman at the 2006 Turin Olympics and apparently it&rsquo;s not going to stop him from returning to Canada in May for the world championship. The former Toronto Maple Leaf and New York Islander has endured back problems all season and missed more than a month &ndash; only to make a comeback with Team Sweden in the Swedish leg of the Euro Hockey Tour. He&rsquo;s looking forward to May. &ldquo;If coach (Bengt) Gustafsson calls, I&rsquo;m definitely there,&rdquo; Jonsson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;d be fun to see the first Canadian world championship and the atmosphere over there.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; RISTO PAKARINEN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-06159/9185910-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="229" height="229"></div><h3><b>CANADIAN UNIVERSITY</b></h3><h2><b>Island boy loves the ice</b></h2><p>York University&rsquo;s Devin Ramasawmy may be the best hockey player in the country. The country of Mauritius, that is. Ramasawmy was born in Canada, but moved to the island nation &ndash; located 900 kilometers east of Madagascar &ndash; as an infant with his Mauritian parents and stayed until he was four. &ldquo;If Mauritius had a national hockey team, I&rsquo;d probably be the center, winger, defenseman and goalie,&rdquo; laughed the second-year goalie and business student. Ramasawmy, 23, saw his first significant action in late January and was named CIS athlete of the week after making 99 saves in two wins over the nationally-ranked McGill Redmen and Gryphons.</p><p><b>&ndash; JEFF RENAUD</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-07143/9185903-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="229" height="229"></div><h3><b>THE WOMEN&rsquo;S GAME</b></h3><h2><b>Women&rsquo;s league moves forward</b></h2><p>The new player-run Canadian Women&rsquo;s League has turned some corners. It has a new premier sponsor, Scotia Bank, and a new championship against Western Women&rsquo;s League teams at the Esso Nationals, March 7-11. According to Sami Jo Small, goalie and spokesperson, the league has three priorities for next year: fair distribution of players among teams; work with existing sponsors and generate more; and, set plans in motion early. When the National Women&rsquo;s League folded in 2007, players had to scramble. &ldquo;I think everyone is most pleased about how teams have worked together ensuring our game moves forward,&rdquo; Small said.</p><p><b>&ndash; ELIZABETH ETUE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-08107/9185896-1-eng-US/f0044-082.jpg" title="f0044-08" width="229" height="229"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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PROSPECTS UNLIMITED

HARDCORE HOCKEY BEST OF THE REST

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012086/9184157-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="578" height="489"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK WILSON)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HE NHL HAS A HIGH PAIN THRESHOLD when it comes to violent and dangerous acts, but one place it enforces a zero-tolerance policy is kicking. Skates are meant to stay in contact with the ice for the protection of the players and officials.</p><p>So when Richard Zednik takes a teammate&rsquo;s skate to the throat, or linesman Pat Dapuzzo receives a boot to the head, it&rsquo;s almost always an accident &ndash; and a rare one at that.</p><p>The unofficial &ldquo;code&rdquo; and official codebook take kicking very seriously because of the potential catastrophic consequences. It&rsquo;s the reason why a league, which could use more goal-scoring, stands firm on the &ldquo;distinct kicking motion&rdquo; bylaw &ndash; a regulation that has been a flash point for critics.</p><p>Some commentators have suggested all pucks kicked into the net should be legal, but in our opinion that would be an invitation for disaster. Players, and in particular goalies, are often in vulnerable positions on the ice during scrambles. Once we let the feet start to fly freely, the blood would soon follow. Thankfully, the NHL has no intention of changing its kicking-the-puck-into-the-net rules. For those who doubted the rationale, Zednik and Dapuzzo should serve as startling reminders.</p><p>For the record, the NHLPA says it will review the issue of neck protection to help safeguard against re-occurrences of the Zednik incident, but don&rsquo;t expect any policy changes. If the players are staunchly for maintaining individual choice on visors, they&rsquo;re not going to move on something widely viewed as a freak occurrence.</p><p>What should be more pressing for the players, from a safety perspective, is head injuries. Union brothers are continuing to succumb to concussions, which derail seasons and careers and impact quality of life. Simon Gagne, a truly elite NHLer, is sidelined with concussion No. 3 this season alone, prompting questions about his future. Patrice Bergeron, another young bright light, hasn&rsquo;t seen any action since his nasty head injury in October. Matt Cullen is having a tough time staying in the Carolina lineup following a Christmas concussion, whose aftereffects have included blurred vision.</p><p>They&rsquo;re among at least 35 players who&rsquo;ve sustained brain injuries in 2007-08.</p><p>We know there aren&rsquo;t any magical solutions and we&rsquo;re not stumping for radical change, but we hope the new union leadership is doing more than its predecessors when it comes to protecting its workforce. Whether it&rsquo;s heads, necks, eyes or knees, it&rsquo;s the association&rsquo;s obligation, in conjunction with the league, to have the players&rsquo; backs.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021765/9184150-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="330" height="178"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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SAFETY ISSUES NEED ATTENTION

<div class="byline">RICK DEMARAY, CANMORE, ALTA.</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-012081/9184236-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="880" height="1019"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dale Hunter <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021503/9184243-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="158" height="158"></div><p>I&rsquo;m no expert in management, but why not hire two of the brightest minds in the OHL to turn the Toronto Maple Leafs into a contender?</p><p>Mark and Dale Hunter make a pretty darn good team and they bring a lot to the table: NHL experience, Memorial Cup championship team-building and, well, good luck buying a ticket to a London Knights home game.</p><p>They&rsquo;re not afraid to deal their own blood to get a good prospect who can help the team and I&rsquo;m sure there are several top players and Knights alumni in the NHL who would gladly return to play for a Hunter-managed team.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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HUNTERS NOW HUNTED

<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;What is the vengeance about? Having a really bad team last year?&rdquo;</blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote">HOCKEY&rsquo;S SWEET 16 With the NHL&rsquo;s current playoff format, we see the same teams playing each other year after year.</blockquote><p>I would love to be able to see Boston play Anaheim in the first or second round or Colorado playing Detroit in the Stanley Cup final.</p><p>Divisional rivalries have long been established and it would be a good time to reconsider the concept of ranking the teams 1-16 going into the playoffs with No. 1 playing No. 16, No. 2 playing No. 15, and so forth.</p><p>This would give fans in the west a chance to see Sidney Crosby in the playoffs, even if Pittsburgh doesn&rsquo;t make it to the final.</p><p>BRIAN KEYES, TIMMINS, ONT.</p><h2><b>THN, AHOY!</b></h2><p>I am currently stationed aboard an aircraft carrier which recently returned from the Persian Gulf. We usually work 14-hour days and after that all I want to do is hit the sack.</p><p>The only thing that prevents me from that is when I find a fresh new issue of The Hockey News waiting for me.</p><p>When you put this magazine together I&rsquo;m sure you don&rsquo;t think about some 22-year-old sailor reading it in the middle of the ocean, but it definitely puts a smile on my face during some hard times. Just wanted to say thanks for all the passion you put into each edition.</p><p>JEFF GILLETTE, BUFFALO</p><h2><b>BROKEN BIEKSA</b></h2><p>After reading your top 10 injuries that have affected teams this season (Feb. 12), I was shocked to see Kevin Bieksa was left off of this list.</p><p>He was a big part of why the Canucks were so effective defensively last season &ndash; and should&rsquo;ve been this season &ndash; but he&rsquo;s out because of a freak accident. And with the Canucks defense almost at the brink of extinction, Bieksa not playing has really hurt the team.</p><p>A little love to Vancouver, even when we are down, would be nice. Please send flowers.</p><p>RYAN HANK, SURREY, B.C.</p><p>VOLCH ADOPTER</p><p>I just answered a poll on <a href="http://NHL.com">NHL.com</a> about who should win the Norris Trophy and I was surprised that Anton Volchenkov&rsquo;s name was not even on the list.</p><p>The Senators blueliner goes out every night and doesn&rsquo;t think about what a flying puck might do to his body when he blocks shots and makes big hits. I think he should win the Norris every year, but because he doesn&rsquo;t play for Toronto or New York or a big-name team, he doesn&rsquo;t get recognized for his ability. I think he&rsquo;s the most loyal defenseman out there.</p><p>ELLEN DAY, PERTH, ONT.</p><h2><b>GET REAL, FANS</b></h2><p>I love sports, but I wonder when fans will wake up and realize pro sports exist for one purpose and one purpose only: entertainment.</p><p>This isn&rsquo;t rocket science. What is the point of watching a winning team if we&rsquo;re not entertained? Yes, winning is great, but it doesn&rsquo;t save lives or put food on the fans&rsquo; tables. Having entertainment is an important part of our quality of life, but it&rsquo;s just that.</p><p>Personally, as a Canucks fan, I miss the days of Pat Quinn and after him, Marc Crawford. It was fun to watch, and who can forget the Rangers-Canucks final in &rsquo;94?</p><p>Now that was entertainment.</p><p>DARRYL MILLAR, PORT MCNEILL, B.C.</p><h2><b>DRIVE-BY BULLYING</b></h2><p>I just drove back from Philadelphia and saw a very strange billboard. It was a Flyers player with his hands raised in fists. On one side it said &ldquo;Flyers Hockey,&rdquo; but the other side it just said &ldquo;Vengeance.&rdquo;</p><p>Given their recent &ldquo;bad behavior&rdquo; and their warnings from the league, I found this sign way out of bounds. I&rsquo;m not against fighting, but come on, this is a move out of <i>Slap Shot</i>. Plus, what is the vengeance about? Having a really bad team last year?</p><p>MICHAEL ZETLAN, ANDOVER, MD.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

CROWD SHOTS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03901/9184281-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="509" height="529"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(POTI: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><i><span>J</span>AMES</i>&nbsp;<i>FINNEY FROM LUBBOCK, TEX., ASKS</i> How have things changed and are there any players who have really stood out since Bruce Boudreau took over as coach?</p><p>We have a new mindset. We&rsquo;re more aggressive and assertive. We force teams to make mistakes and take the game to them instead of waiting for them to come to us. One guy who has been vital is Alex Ovechkin. He&rsquo;s a special player &ndash; he could be the best ever.</p><p><i>SCOTT</i>&nbsp;<i>KHACHADOURIAN FROM BOSTON, ASKS</i> What&rsquo;s the difference between college hockey and the NHL?</p><p>Speed and quickness. Plus, in college a team may have one or two good lines, but in the NHL you&rsquo;re always facing four good lines. Players think and react quicker here as well.</p><p><i>JOHN PODOLSKI FROM, BELL-MORE, N.Y., ASKS</i> Having played for the Islanders and Rangers, do you have a different view on that rivalry now?</p><p>No, both teams get jacked up for those games and so do the fans. It was pretty special to be part of it.</p><p><i>SARAH PARROTT FROM STONE MOUNTAIN, GA., ASKS</i> What most surprised you when you became Ovechkin&rsquo;s teammate?</p><p>His wrist shot is harder than a lot of guys&rsquo; slapshots.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04560/9184274-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="76" height="78"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>Visit <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> to ask your questions of NHL stars!<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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FAN SHOOTOUT WITH TOM POTI

<p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HN, Why is it that when the puck is shot into the netting above the glass and then falls back down into play, the whistle is still blown? I thought the new NHL was trying to reduce stoppages in play.</p><p>Brandon Sparks, Fredericton, N.B.</p><p>Brandon, Since the netting around the glass was introduced as a safety feature for fans, puck play was not factored in. When the puck hits the netting, it is considered to have left the rink and therefore, the stoppage in play.</p><p>THN, Would you please explain why the &ldquo;delay of game&rdquo; penalty awarded every time the puck is cleared over the boards by the defensive team is not simply at the discretion of the referee? So many other calls are based on intent.</p><p>Charlie Morison</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012308/9184319-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="564" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(REFEREE: LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Charlie, The spirit of the penalty is that it forces the defensive player to make a move with the puck &ndash; preferably a pass. If he should ice it, there&rsquo;s no line change and if he turns it over, that&rsquo;s another offensive opportunity, which goes towards the push for more goal-scoring in the league. Whether or not the player meant to flip it out is irrelevant, as the point is to not give the defender an easy out if he gets pressured.</p><p>SEND YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS TO <a href="mailto:experts@thehockeynews.com">experts@thehockeynews.com</a></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05435/9184312-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="76" height="78"></div><p>Need more of your questions answered? Read Proteau&rsquo;s &lsquo;Ask Adam&rsquo; column every Tuesday and Friday at <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

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ASK THE EXPERTS

<p><a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></p><p>No 66 %</p><p>Yes 34 %</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021543/9184357-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="459" height="641"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ZEDNIK: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>SPIT IT OUT!</b></h2><p>GET IT OFF YOUR CHEST</p><p><i>SEND US AN E-MAIL</i>&nbsp;<a href="mailto:letters@thehockeynews.com">LETTERS@THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a></p><p><i>OR LOG ON</i> <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">WWW.THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a>&nbsp;<i>SEND US SNAIL MAIL</i></p><p>Letters, The Hockey News 25 Sheppard Ave. W., Suite 100 Toronto, ON., M2N 6S7, Canada</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06306/9184350-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="76" height="78"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>BONUS!</b></h2><p>All subscribers get exclusive content on <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> with an ALL-ACCESS PASS!<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-02

POLL RESULTS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOE STARKEY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012070/9184395-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Evgeni Malkin <span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021403/9184402-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="182" height="206"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>OR A GUY WHO DRAMATICALLY FLED his homeland to join the NHL and promptly won the Calder Trophy, Evgeni Malkin somehow managed to avoid the spotlight for much of his first year-and-a-half with the Pittsburgh Penguins.</p><p>That was largely attributable to the presence of one Sidney Crosby, but truth be told, Malkin didn&rsquo;t mind skating in The Kid&rsquo;s shadow. As teammate Brooks Orpik put it: &ldquo;I think he actually likes Sid getting more attention than him.&rdquo;</p><p>The attention shifted, dramatically, Jan. 18, when Crosby went down with a high-ankle sprain against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The news he would be out until perhaps mid-March nearly sparked a city-wide panic.</p><p>Fans worried if the team could stay in playoff contention. They wondered how Malkin would react to the spotlight.</p><p>Defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who doubles as Malkin&rsquo;s landlord, had a pretty good idea.</p><p>&ldquo;Now is a good time to step up and show everybody what he can do,&rdquo; Gonchar said. &ldquo;With Sid out, he will have more ice time and more pressure, but I believe he can do it.&rdquo;</p><p>Suddenly, Malkin merited mention as an Art Ross Trophy contender and even a Hart Trophy candidate. His name appeared in headlines like this one from the <i>National Post</i>:</p><p>&ldquo;Malkin, Alfredsson make case for MVP.&rdquo;</p><p>From his luxury-suite perch at Mellon Arena, Mario Lemieux acknowledged that watching the tall and talented Malkin was a bit like watching himself as a 20-something.</p><p>Like Lemieux, the 6-foot-3 Malkin swoops in on defenders. His passing touch is uncanny &ndash; laser beams and lobs are both in the repertoire &ndash; and his shot could shatter a bullet-proof vest.</p><p>He is that rare mix of playmaker and sniper.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the best in the world,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;He wants to be the go-to guy and he&rsquo;s showing it on the ice. It&rsquo;s quite amazing.&rdquo;</p><p>Within a few weeks, Malkin had made believers of the whole league, thanks to a Mario Lemieux-like rampage. He rang up 22 points in 11 games without Crosby and led the Pens to a 6-3-2 record and first place in the Atlantic Division. He also rocketed from 14th to second in the scoring race.</p><p>The whole Malkin story is quite amazing, though he isn&rsquo;t yet ready to tell much of it in English. His teammates say he understands the language, but doesn&rsquo;t talk much.</p><p>Still, Malkin will reveal his sense of humor every so often, as was evident during a recent taping of &ldquo;Inside Penguins Hockey&rdquo; on FSN Pittsburgh. Translator George Birman, a team employee, asked Malkin a question in Russian about when he would start speaking English.</p><p>Malkin immediately fired back, in English: &ldquo;Soon, George.&rdquo;</p><p>He&rsquo;ll have to speak more English when he moves out of the Russianspeaking Gonchar household next season. In the meantime, Malkin, 21, is enjoying himself. He spends much of his down time watching television, playing with Gonchar&rsquo;s 5-year-old daughter, Natalie, reading Russian newspapers on the Internet and sending emails to friends.</p><p>Oh, and one other thing.</p><p>&ldquo;Sleeping,&rdquo; Malkin said in English. &ldquo;I love sleeping.&rdquo;</p><p>A visit from his parents, Natalia and Vladimir, coincided with his February scoring binge. It was their second trip to Pittsburgh. Back in their hometown of Magnitogorsk, they run Evgeni&rsquo;s restaurant, the VIP Zone, which is designed like a maximum-security Russian prison, complete with barred windows, waitresses in striped suits and bills dotted with fingerprints.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012207/9184388-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="969" height="698"><figcaption class="caption-body">Malkin&rsquo;s scoring exploits coincided with Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s absence. <span class="photo-credit">(MALKIN: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not great business,&rdquo; said Vladimir Malkin through a translator. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s all right.&rdquo;</p><p>Malkin, in the second year of his three-year NHL entry deal, doesn&rsquo;t need the money. The Penguins want to negotiate a long-term extension this summer. That should be interesting, seeing as Crosby gave the hometown discount by signing an extension worth $8.7 million annually over five years.</p><p>GM Ray Shero should begin negotiating as soon as possible.</p><p>Malkin&rsquo;s price is rising every day.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0007-01

MALKIN LORE STILL GROWING

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021668/9184447-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="289" height="272"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031170/9184440-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="449" height="449"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MALKIN: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>FAST ACTION Medical staff, teams and Richard Zednik himself acted fast to avert a tragic situation.</p><p>NOTHING NEW Just another 30-win season (No. 12) for Devils super-stopper Martin Brodeur.</p><p>FIRST DOMINO? Hopefully, Sens-Canes swap will jump start a trade market that has been silent all season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04648/9184433-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="449" height="450"></div><p>NO ONE TO BLAME BUT&hellip; GMs handcuffed themselves by agreeing to so many no-trade/no-movement clauses.</p><p>SAME WEST SIDE STORY Looks like early surprise teams (Chicago, St. Louis) will fall short of West playoffs again.</p><p>SOUTHLEAST East teams should be falling over themselves for No. 6 seed to draw weak Southeast winner at No. 3.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-02

PLUS/MINUS

<p>10 Injuries saw MATT KEETLEY move up from No. 4 on Calgary&rsquo;s depth chart.</p><p>9 With 10 saves on 10 shots, TYLER WEIMAN was perfect in his only Avs appearance.</p><p>8 If Ottawa needs more goalie controversy, they have BRIAN ELLIOTT on call.</p><p>7 Will JIMMY HOWARD ever get the job in Detroit? This year he has played once.</p><p>6 THOMAS GREISS isn&rsquo;t going to get a whole lot of work in San Jose.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-05461/9184478-1-eng-US/f0008-052.jpg" title="f0008-05" width="562" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SCHWARZ: BILL SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>5 JON QUICK is yet another soldier in the Kings&rsquo; goaltender army.</p><p>4 Is there another DAN CLOUTIER, or is the ex-Canuck finally back in L.A.?</p><p>3 This Swiss didn&rsquo;t miss; TOBIAS STEPHAN was great in his one Dallas start.</p><p>2 Last in the NHL with a 7.20 GAA is St. Louis call-up MAREK SCHWARZ.</p><p>1 Despite that other guy, DREW MACINTYRE has seen the Canucks&rsquo; crease twice.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-05

Starting from 10

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HEY SAY EVERY ATHLETE secretly wants to be a rock star and every rock star wants to be an athlete. For Toronto Maple Leafs left winger Boyd Devereaux, that line is a blurry one. Devereaux is a serious music lover and has forged relationships with several of Canada&rsquo;s hippest young bands, including The Constantines, who had the grinding forward chip in on their forthcoming album &ndash; sort of.</p><p>&ldquo;I knew they were in the studio in Toronto, so I headed over after a game,&rdquo; Devereaux said. &ldquo;Will (Kidman) was recording some keyboards and the opening of the song is one underlying note, so I held the note while he played with some volume pedals.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s when Devereaux&rsquo;s appreciation really kicked in.</p><p>&ldquo;I could hear the recording through Will&rsquo;s headphones,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The song was just so awesome, I was freaking out.&rdquo;</p><p>His recording debut aside, Devereaux is usually more involved on the planning side of things, whether it&rsquo;s releasing albums on the label he runs with a friend (Elevation Recordings), or putting on shows at his cottage.</p><p>&ldquo;I always had this shaker at the end of the summer and I caught Cuff the Duke at the Hillside Festival (in Guelph, Ont.) three years ago,&rdquo; he recalled. &ldquo;I asked if they wanted to come up for a paying gig &ndash; we arranged the whole thing in a week.&rdquo;</p><p>The Constantines &ndash; and their Neil Young tribute side project, Horsey Craze &ndash; have also been musical guests at the cottage. They&rsquo;re&rsquo;re big fans of hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;He knows more about music than I do,&rdquo; said Kidman of his Leaf buddy, who first saw the Cons in Detroit as a Red Wing. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a real dude.&rdquo;</p><p>Not that Devereaux hears a lot of his underground faves at the rink.</p><p>&ldquo;Hal Gill seems to have a pretty good hold on the dressing room iPod,&rdquo; Devereaux said. &ldquo;And he plays some pretty good stuff. I talk to Hal and Mark Bell about music, but it&rsquo;s definitely not going to suit everyone.&rdquo;</p><p>Going to concerts has also slowed down for the winger, now that he&rsquo;s a family man. &ldquo;We have a few little girls at home now, so I have to pick my spots,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If there&rsquo;s a band I <i>have</i> to see, my wife is pretty good about it.&rdquo;</p><p>As for making the cut on the Cons&rsquo; upcoming <i>Kensington Heights</i> album, Devereaux said: &ldquo;I was talking to the guys the other day and the note made the album. So I&rsquo;m pumped.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011986/9184509-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="885" height="1302"><figcaption class="caption-body">Boyd Devereaux <span class="photo-credit">(DEVEREAUX: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0009-01

‘CON’ JOB IS MUSIC TO MAPLE LEAF’S EAR

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-05485/9184547-1-eng-US/f0009-052.jpg" title="f0009-05" width="251" height="251"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>Y</span>es, it&rsquo;s terrible what happened to Richard Zednik, but to suggest everyone should suddenly wear neckguards is an overreaction. Make kids wear them, let the pros make up their own minds.</p><p>No, Ryan Miller didn&rsquo;t literally stand on his head in a 35-save shutout, as some sports-casters kept telling me. He figuratively stood on his head. And Evgeni Malkin isn&rsquo;t literally on fire, either.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03848/9184540-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="334" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MILLER: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0009-05

WHAT’S IRRITATING BROPHY + CAMPBELL THIS WEEK?

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021381/9184578-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="511" height="793"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RUSSELL: JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-04648/9184585-1-eng-US/f0009-042.jpg" title="f0009-04" width="130" height="130"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>KRIS RUSSELL</p><p>COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS, D</p><p>DEBUT Oct. 5, 2007 VS. Anaheim (4-0 win) ICE TIME 16:09, 23 shifts KEY STAT 1 assist, 5 shots</p><p>&ldquo;MY FIRST GAME came in our season opener against Anaheim and the Ducks have a great team so we wanted to play well.</p><p>I had played in exhibition games, so I was prepared, but there were still a lot of nerves out there, especially during the anthem and when you hear your name called. It was even better because my family was there, too.</p><p>My roommate is fellow rookie Jared Boll, so it was cool that we got to share our first game together.</p><p>Before the game, coach Ken Hitchcock told me to concentrate on making smart, simple plays, or as he put it &lsquo;You can&rsquo;t hit home runs &ndash; just get singles.&rsquo;</p><p>I got hit a couple of times, but nothing serious. In the third period, I got my first NHL point, an assist on a Rick Nash power play goal.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-02

FRESH LEGS

<p>THIS WEEK WE ASKED TWO NHL COACHES:</p><p>Your starting goalie appears to be losing confidence. Do you give him a pep talk or just &ldquo;let goalies be goalies?&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021577/9184654-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="516" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>JOHN STEVENS</p><p>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</p> <span class="photo-credit">(STEVENS: LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>We communicate pretty frequently with our goalies and goalie coach. If we think a goaltender has a problem, we&rsquo;ll discuss it and maybe take him out early or after practice for some solo drills, or to watch video.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03996/9184647-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="512" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>KEN HITCHCOCK</p><p>COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS</p> <span class="photo-credit">(HITCHCOCK: JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>I prefer to go through the person with the most knowledge: Our goalie coach. I&rsquo;ll ask the goalie how he&rsquo;s feeling and be a good listener, but generally I talk to our coach.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-02

MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011882/9184723-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="933" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ron Wilson is the first U.S. coach with 500 NHL wins. <span class="photo-credit">(WILSON: DON SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021365/9184716-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="148" height="148"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>OO HOO&hellip;IT&rsquo;S TOUGH to play hockey in Canada because players are so scrutinized. So complained blueliner Joe Corvo on his way out of Ottawa. Instead of trading him to Carolina, perhaps the Sens should have done him a favor and sent him back to California&hellip;you know, to whine country.</p><p>THE DETROIT RED WINGS are a lock to win the Presidents&rsquo; Trophy for the best record during the regular season. The players share the $350,000 purse (about $15,000 apiece), but only six times in 21 years has the regular season champ team gone on to win the Stanley Cup. The Wings have won the Presidents&rsquo; Trophy five times, but only once did they follow it up with a Cup.</p><p>CONGRATS TO RON WILSON for becoming just the 11th NHL coach &ndash; and first American &ndash; to reach 500 wins. The late Herb Brooks cemented his legend in USA Hockey circles for guiding America to gold at the 1980 Olympics, but Wilson is the only coach to lead Team USA to a top finish at a best-on-best event, the 1996 World Cup.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0011-01

SNAPSHOTS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03915/9184761-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KIPRUSOFF: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; NABOKOV: DON SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>KIPRUSOFF VS. NABOKOV</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>G</span>lenn Hall played 502 consecutive games over seven NHL seasons. Everyday goalies have been hard to come by since then, but this year, Miikka Kiprusoff and Evgeni Nabokov are doing &lsquo;Mr. Goalie&rsquo; proud.</p><h2><b>TALE OF THE TAPE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04693/9184754-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="994" height="569"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0011-03

VS. TWO SAN JOSE DRAFTEES ARE VERY BUSY THIS YEAR

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031067/9184799-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist has rocketed up the pay scale. <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;The law of supply and demand is out of whack when it comes to NHL goalies&rdquo;</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012119/9184806-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="207" height="246"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>OR FOUR YEARS AFTER HE was drafted, Henrik Lundqvist was an outstanding Swedish goalie who was a long-term prospect for the New York Rangers. Next season, he&rsquo;ll be the second-highest-paid goalie in the NHL.</p><p>Holy overpayment, Batman. Lundqvist is wildly overpaid, even more than he was when he signed a one-year deal worth $4.25 million last summer. When his new contract kicks in, Lundqvist will have a salary fit for a King (his nickname) and will have the highest salary cap hit for a netminder. His actual salary of $6.875 million next season will trail only the $7 million made by Roberto Luongo.</p><p>Forget for a moment that as of this writing, the Rangers were out of the playoffs and that Lundqvist&rsquo;s record was just barely over .500 (actually, sub-.500 if you include the overtime and shootout losses). Also forget that neither Lundqvist&rsquo;s goals-against average (2.37) nor save percentage (.906) was among the top 10 in the league.</p><p>That&rsquo;s not why Henrik Lundqvist is overpaid. Henrik Lundqvist is overpaid because all goalies are overpaid, every last one of &rsquo;em from Martin Brodeur to Chris Mason. Nowhere in the NHL does the law of supply and demand go more out of whack than it does with goalies.</p><p>According to <a href="http://nhlhumbers.com">nhlhumbers.com</a>, forwards this season, on average, count for $1.77 million against the salary cap, while defensemen count for $1.83 million.</p><p>But goalies, man, they make out like bandits and plumbers by comparison. Puckstoppers account for an average of $2.21 million in cap space and that number would be higher if not for the large disparity in pay between the No. 1 goalie and the backup. When you take into account the average of the top-paid goalie on each team, it comes out to $3.61 million per guy.</p><p>One thing NHL teams have not been able to grasp, pretty much since the advent of salary disclosure in the late 1980s, is to recognize when they are in a leverage position and to have the gumption to use it accordingly. Let&rsquo;s see, there are 30 No. 1 goaltending jobs and another 30 for backups and approximately 9,476,382 players who want those spots. The laws of supply and demand &ndash; which guys who own NHL teams seem to have a pretty good grasp of under normal circumstances &ndash; dictate the supply far exceeds the demand, thus driving the price down in most cases. Let&rsquo;s face it: In parts of Canada, goalies actually fall out of trees if you shake them hard enough.</p><p>But somewhere along the line, somebody decided a goalie was worth far more than his market value and everyone has followed suit. Much of it comes from the fact goaltenders have emerged as stars in this game, largely because of league-wide obsessions with numbers and keeping the puck out of the net. Goalies are overprotected with superfluous equipment and overpaid with big-money contracts they don&rsquo;t deserve.</p><p>Strip down their equipment to a reasonable size, encourage more scoring and let&rsquo;s see how much these guys are really worth.</p><p>The Phoenix Coyotes had a good find in Ilya Bryzgalov when they got him off the waiver wire, then gave him a 312-percent raise whereby he&rsquo;ll be making $4.25 million next season. The Toronto Maple Leafs gave up first, second and fourth round picks and promising prospect Tuukka Rask for their tandem of Vesa Toskala and Andrew Raycroft, whom they&rsquo;ll be paying a combined $6 million next season. By the way, neither the Leafs nor the Coyotes will ride their goaltending into the playoffs.</p><p>The Ottawa Senators could have opted for arbitration with Ray Emery last summer and would have had him on a one-year deal, but instead got all nervous and signed him to a three-year deal worth $9.5 million that has made him virtually untradeable. With a $3.7-million Martin Gerber sharing the crease, the Senators have almost $7 million tied up in two shaky goalies.</p><p>Teams have lowballed GMs, coaches, scouts and public relations people for years based on supply and demand. They all want to live the dream, but they also know there are roughly a thousand people waiting to replace them, so they can&rsquo;t demand too high a salary. You don&rsquo;t think Brian Burke and Randy Carlyle are as valuable to the Ducks as Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer? Think again, but there&rsquo;s no way either one of those guys is going to get a pay stub that even comes close to what their players make.</p><p>That will never happen with goalies, but it should cause a GM to stop and think before signing his beloved puckstopper to a megabucks contract.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021655/9184792-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="52" height="53"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For Ken&rsquo;s web-exclusive Campbell&rsquo;s Cuts column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-03

LUNDQVIST LEADS PARADE OF OVERPAID

<div class="byline">words by KEN CAMPBELL </div><div class="byline">photo by JENNIFER POTTHEISER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012096/9184879-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>ATLANTA</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>hen Rick DiPietro first broke in with the New York Islanders, the team arranged for him to take batting practice at Shea Stadium. DiPietro took his cuts and he looked pretty good. After all, he was quite the baseball star in his hometown of Winthrop, Mass. Then, being Rick DiPietro, he was confident enough in himself to start chatting up Mike Piazza. The Mets star catcher and all-round bon vivant took a liking to the young upstart, enough to tell him to leave his phone number so the two could go out on the town one night.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011874/9184872-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="1289" height="1300"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Big-Money Goalie</p><p>Rick DiPietro&rsquo;s NHL stats, before and after signing his 15-year deal in Sept., 2006.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;Sure,&rdquo; DiPietro replied. &ldquo;You can be my wingman.&rdquo;</p><p>DiPietro claims he doesn&rsquo;t mean for stuff like that to come out the way it does. He looks back and can&rsquo;t really explain why the words fall out the way they sometimes do, like when he&rsquo;d get on a team flight and ask Alexei Yashin if he bought his latest sports jacket at the Salvation Army.</p><p>&ldquo;Unfortunately,&rdquo; he sighed, &ldquo;I think I was born without a filter. I blame that on my mother.&rdquo;</p><p>Other personal theories are that he grew up in Boston, where just about everyone comes equipped with a sharp tongue. It might have started at St. Sebastian&rsquo;s Prep School, when he made the varsity team as a chubby little freshman who was slow hitting puberty and he developed it as a defense mechanism from getting picked on.</p><p>But the best guess anyone can come up with is it was passed down to him from a man he never met. Omero &lsquo;Homer&rsquo; DiPietro was a stand-up comedian in his day and had something of a regular bit on <i>Candid Camera</i>. (Go ask your parents if you don&rsquo;t know what we&rsquo;re talking about here.)</p><p>&ldquo;He could actually say the same things you were saying the same time you were saying them,&rdquo; says Rick DiPietro Sr., Rick&rsquo;s father and Homer&rsquo;s son. &ldquo;He could do it in Chinese and a bunch of foreign languages. They called him &lsquo;The Human Echo.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Interesting, because for the first couple of years of his NHL career, DiPietro was known pretty much as &lsquo;The Human Pain in the Ass.&rsquo; At the very least, he was like that little terrier Chester who follows the big bulldog Spike around asking him if he wants to go beat up a cat.</p><p>Once on an Islanders charter flight, former coach Steve Stirling grew tired of DiPietro&rsquo;s constant chatter and turned to him and said, &ldquo;Rick, you&rsquo;re at 10. I need you at seven.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">I think I was born without a filter.</blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote">I blame that on my mother.</blockquote><p>But those who know DiPietro best claim they&rsquo;ve seen a transformation in him. Getting a 15-year contract worth $67.5 million at the age of 25 has actually triggered a maturation process. In November, he became engaged to his longtime girlfriend Cassie Fontana, a model at the Ford Agency in New York &ndash; imagine how good those kids are going to look &ndash; and plans to get married after next season. He also moved his father, who takes care of his business affairs, into a house on Long Island. After all, who needs an agent when you essentially have a lifetime contract?</p><p>People scoffed and laughed at the Islanders last year when they signed DiPietro to what looked like a ridiculous contract at the time. Now, maybe not so much, considering what the Philadelphia Flyers did with Mike Richards and the Washington Capitals with Alex Ovechkin. And instead of being complacent with his new deal, DiPietro has actually been better since he signed the contract.</p><p>Much better.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been our MVP for a few years now,&rdquo; said Islanders GM Garth Snow, DiPietro&rsquo;s former teammate and current close friend. &ldquo;He has always had the athletic ability to make the spectacular save, but now he has evolved to the point where the spectacular save looks routine.&rdquo;</p><p>DiPietro probably isn&rsquo;t quite in the stratosphere of elite NHL goalies just yet, but he can see it from where he&rsquo;s standing. It will be interesting two years from now to see whether it will be him or Ryan Miller as the starting goalie for the 2010 U.S. Olympic team.</p><p>One thing is certain: It will be an intense battle. Both Miller and DiPietro are ferocious competitors. When DiPietro was sent to the minors by the Islanders for the first time when he was just 19, he pointed out to former GM Mike Milbury that the Islanders had lost every pre-season game with their veteran goalies, then went out to the arena parking lot and cried in the pouring rain. Mike Eruzione, the hero of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, said during the lockout, a group of former Boston University players had an exhibition game against the current varsity team and, &ldquo;DiPietro treated it like it was Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.&rdquo;</p><p>To be sure, DiPietro has at the very least given the Islanders a measure of respectability in what could have been a disastrous situation. The Isles won the draft lottery in 2000, granting them the first overall pick. With Roberto Luongo already in the system, Milbury could have passed on DiPietro and used the top pick to select either Dany Heatley or Marian Gaborik. Instead, in order to clear the crease for DiPietro, he shipped Luongo and Olli Jokinen to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011652/9184865-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="612" height="776"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021277/9184858-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="698" height="500"><figcaption class="caption-body">DiPietro has backed up his contract and his mouth on the ice this season. <span class="photo-credit">(ANDY MARLIN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Milbury said he decided DiPietro was worth the risk after watching him play a rather odiferous game against Providence in his draft year. It wasn&rsquo;t his play that impressed Milbury, it was the &ldquo;venom&rdquo; he showed when he was scored upon.</p><p>&ldquo;His personality, his confidence, convinced me that he might be worth a try and I thought he was going to be a good goalie,&rdquo; Milbury said. &ldquo;We had so many off-ice issues at the time, serious off-ice issues. Jokinen was an afterthought, trouble in the dressing room and trouble on the ice. We always knew Luongo was going to be a good goalie, but if you had seen him play in Lowell (for the Islanders&rsquo; AHL team), there were nights when we were asking ourselves, &lsquo;How good is he going to be? We know he&rsquo;s going to be good, but how good is he going to be?&rsquo; I don&rsquo;t think anyone thought Heatley was going to be this good, either. Anyone who tells you that is full of sh--.&rdquo;</p><p>That sense of cockiness that made DiPietro so attractive to Milbury can sometimes be perceived differently by others. But the difference with DiPietro is it isn&rsquo;t threatening or mean-spirited. It is actually a little endearing. Eruzione jokes that when DiPietro was at Boston University, coach Jack Parker used to say DiPietro thinks there are only two great goalies in college hockey, &ldquo;and he&rsquo;s both of them.&rdquo;</p><p>DiPietro acknowledges that perhaps he didn&rsquo;t pick his spots perfectly early in his career. When he was playing in the IHL with the Chicago Wolves and veteran Wendell Young was called up to the Islanders, DiPietro joked the team would need to purchase two plane tickets, one for Young and another for his ego.</p><p>That didn&rsquo;t always endear him to veteran players and fans, but people tend to warm up to him after they discover he&rsquo;s essentially a good-natured guy. What DiPietro learned early in his career is that &ldquo;The Code&rdquo; rules hockey and &ldquo;The Code&rdquo; clearly states you have to earn the right to be cheeky. You can&rsquo;t just step into the league and be a Jeremy Roenick with goal pads.</p><p>&ldquo;I think that was the biggest thing for me,&rdquo; DiPietro said. &ldquo;I just came in full bore and didn&rsquo;t realize you have to work your way to get to become what you are. You meet guys you&rsquo;ve never met before and they&rsquo;d have a predetermined notion of what kind of person you are. As you get older, you realize the proper etiquette for a guy coming into the league. That&rsquo;s not something you can learn, people don&rsquo;t sit you down and tell you how to act when you first come into the situation.&rdquo;</p><p>Eruzione tells another story of watching a Little League baseball playoff game, in which a good friend of his was coaching. DiPietro was on the other team and came up with two out and bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. The coach ordered DiPietro to be intentionally walked and Eruzione said afterward he pointed out to his friend that another base hit would have scored the tying runs.</p><p>&ldquo;He said, &lsquo;If I pitched to him, he&rsquo;d hit a grand slam, we&rsquo;d lose by a run and he&rsquo;d walk around the bases backwards laughing at me for pitching to him,&rsquo; &rdquo; Eruzione said. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s when Ricky was 12 years old.&rdquo;</p><p>DiPietro was a very good baseball player before giving up the sport to concentrate on hockey. His mother, Cheryl, said he probably could have played professional baseball if he had stuck with it. After converting from a shortstop to a left-handed pitcher, if he had played in the majors his current $67.5-million contract might look like couch change.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011749/9184851-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="1421" height="1010"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DIPIETRO: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;They get paid a lot more, don&rsquo;t they?&rdquo; Cheryl said. &ldquo;Maybe he did make the wrong choice.&rdquo;</p><p>But for his part, DiPietro claims he doesn&rsquo;t have an inflated sense of self. In fact, the opposite is true and his deep-seated insecurities manifest themselves in being boisterous.</p><p>&ldquo;If you got to know me, you would realize I&rsquo;m not an overly confident person,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think my nervous energy is released in talking a lot and I know that people sometimes misconstrue that as cockiness. It&rsquo;s more a nervous thing than anything.&rdquo;</p><p>One person who is capable of calming DiPietro down is his father. Rick DiPietro Sr. and Rick DiPietro Jr. couldn&rsquo;t be more diametrically opposed in terms of personality. Perhaps that has something to do with the perspectives from which both are coming. Rick Jr. spent his 21st birthday in training camp with the Islanders; Rick Sr. spent his 21st birthday in Vietnam as a combat assault helicopter pilot.</p><p>Rick DiPietro Sr. dropped out of university at 19 to enlist in the Buddy Program, which gave future soldiers a better choice of assignments because they were bringing their buddies with them. The day the members of the 4th Aviation Battalion of the 4th Infantry Division landed in Camron Bay in Vietnam in 1969, they were taking enemy fire. His helicopter was shot down once, and he would regularly fly into areas where he would take fire and come out of areas taking fire. In his helicopter, there was himself, a co-pilot, a door gunner and crew chief. The door gunner and crew chief had M60 machine guns that were locked and loaded and if they went into an LZ (Landing Zone) taking fire, they would fire back. On one occasion, a bullet came through Rick Sr.&rsquo;s side window and would have gone through his head had he not moved it a split second before.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">you got to know me, you would realize I&rsquo;m not an overly confident person.</blockquote><p>Rick Jr. has honored his father and other soldiers by having the MIA/POW emblem painted on his goalie mask.</p><p>&ldquo;I lost a few friends&hellip;Guys I went through flight school with got killed over there,&rdquo; Rick Sr. said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t kill anybody that I know of. I shot a lot of people, but I don&rsquo;t know if I killed anybody. But I never got anybody killed either.&rdquo;</p><p>Having his father so close has allowed the two of them to spend more time together, something that hasn&rsquo;t been the case since DiPietro left for the U.S. National Team Development Program when he was 16 years old. He has learned to handle adversity better and is more equipped to accept a leadership role on a young team that is still trying to find its way.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody uses the word maturity when they talk about him now,&rdquo; Milbury said. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;m glad for him. And I hear in the dressing room, he&rsquo;s a much different person than he was.&rdquo;</p><p>But he&rsquo;ll always have to deal with that contract. He&rsquo;ll have to play until he&rsquo;s almost 40 to fulfill it and while DiPietro &ndash; at $4.5 million per season at his current level of play &ndash; is beginning to look like a better deal all the time, any years that have to be subtracted from the contract to accommodate for declining performance or a buyout will drive up that yearly cost.</p><p>And then there is his left hip, which is more than just wonky. In fact, one source said the Islanders and DiPietro had their 15-year deal worked out a year before, but it was scuttled because of insurance issues. DiPietro has had problems with it since he was in college and last summer the torn labrum and bone chips were so bad he underwent major surgery with renowned orthopedic hip surgeon Dr. Marc Philippon at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Colorado. After tweaking his hip in the skills competition, DiPietro sat out the rest of the event, but returned the next day to stop 12 of 13 shots in the All-Star Game.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011575/9184844-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="1018" height="1294"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>If the hip injury ever developed into a career-ending condition, the Islanders would be on the hook for the salary, but because DiPietro was not 35 or older when he signed the deal, it essentially would not count against the team&rsquo;s salary cap; they&rsquo;d be able to get a Long-Term Injury exemption for him for the remaining years of the deal.</p><p>Snow says he&rsquo;s not the least bit worried about it. He had the procedure done himself when he played and, at the time, about 35 players, including J-S Giguere had undergone the same type of surgery. He also said his hip has never felt better.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of crazy,&rdquo; DiPietro said. &ldquo;I guess you don&rsquo;t realize how bad it&rsquo;s been until you get one fixed and then realize how bad the other one is.&rdquo;</p><p>Everyone is hopeful the hip will hold up fine and DiPietro will continue on his upward trajectory. He has been solid for the struggling Islanders this season and remains one of the premier puckhandling goalies in the league.</p><p>In fact, he has refined his craft to the point where he puts his bottom hand under the stick when he wants to clear a puck out of his zone, so he gets more power behind it. When he wants to make a pass, he turns his hand over because that gives him more accuracy. Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars, another premier puckhandler, does the same thing.</p><p>Meanwhile, the maturation process for DiPietro continues. There are still times when he lapses, of course.</p><p>During the all-star skills competition, he was wearing a mic for Versus for the occasion and proclaimed, after stretching out to stop a Marian Gaborik breakaway, &ldquo;I just (expletive) up my hip up again.&rdquo;</p><p>And earlier this season when DiPietro was going through a particularly good stretch, a local reporter asked him if the puck was beginning to look like a beach ball.</p><p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;It still pretty much looks like a puck.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>.485 .556</b></h2><p>(58-62-13) (52-40-16)</p><p>3.02 GAA 2.65 GAA</p><p> .900 SP .912 SP</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021327/9184837-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="556" height="1225"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BARRASSO: JIM LEARY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>American Beauties</b></h2><p>Here are the all-time leaders in NHL wins, among U.S.-born goaltenders.</p><p><b>John Vanbiesbrouck, &rsquo;81-02 374</b></p><h3><b>Tom Barrasso, &rsquo;83-03 369</b></h3><p><b>Mike Richter, &rsquo;89-03 301</b></p><p><b>Frank Brimsek, &rsquo;38-50 252</b></p><p><b>Guy Hebert, &rsquo;91-01 191</b></p><h3><b>CURRENT</b></h3><p><b>Rick DiPietro, &rsquo;00-present 110</b></p><p><b>Ryan Miller, &rsquo;02-present 101</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-01

THE BOLD ONE

<div class="byline">Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011231/9184938-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">1 ROBERTO LUONGO <span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>L</span></b>ast season, midway through the year, Roberto Luongo assured The Hockey News that nothing would stand between him and his first appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs.</p><p>After six seasons in the NHL with no playoff games under his belt, Luongo was determined to lead his new team, the Vancouver Canucks, into the post-season.</p><p>And he came through on his word.</p><p>Not only did he outduel Marty Turco and the Dallas Stars in an unbelievably tight opening round, he played superbly in 12 games, right up until the eventual champion Anaheim Ducks eliminated his Canucks.</p><p>Now Luongo wants back in.</p><p>&ldquo;Once you taste it, it is tough when you are eliminated knowing you have to wait a whole season to get back to the playoffs,&rdquo; says Luongo, The Hockey News&rsquo; choice as the best goalie in the NHL this season.</p><p>&ldquo;It was probably the most fun and exciting time of my life. Right off the bat when you go seven periods in the first game (Vancouver beat Dallas 5-4 in quadruple overtime in Game 1) it&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Wow! This is fun!&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>It is going to take a push for the Canucks to make it back to the dance. Through 57 games they were in ninth place in the extremely tough Western Conference, two points out of the final playoff position.</p><p>No other team relies on its goaltending as heavily as the Canucks. Seven of the eight teams ahead of Vancouver had scored more goals, while San Jose had scored the same as Vancouver, but with a game in hand. The Canucks are a defense-first team which is nice when you have a goaltender like Luongo, but not so nice if you plan to go deep into the playoffs. Luongo gladly accepts his responsibility.</p><p>&ldquo;We know what kind of team we have and we know when we are playing our system we&rsquo;ll win games 2-1 and 3-2,&rdquo; Luongo says.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m comfortable with that. It&rsquo;s better than having no offense and no defense. That is the type of hockey we play and when we play well, it&rsquo;s awesome.&rdquo;</p><p>Voted to start for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game, Luongo took a pass on the event to spend time with his wife, Gina, who is bedridden in Florida awaiting the birth of their first child, a daughter, in early April.</p><p>Luongo feels he is set to make another serious stab at the playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;In general I&rsquo;ve been really happy with my play,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;In January I hit a little bump in the road, but the last few weeks I&rsquo;ve been feeling more like myself. I am feeling comfortable and confident.</p><p>&ldquo;It happens every year &ndash; you have ups and downs, which is normal. It&rsquo;s tough to be at the top of your game the whole season. It&rsquo;s always hard to deal with. You have to try to find a solution to get out of (a slump) as quickly as you can. Sometimes you end up pressing a little too hard and that&rsquo;s not good either.&rdquo;</p><p>Informed he ranked at the top of our goaltender&rsquo;s list, Luongo says he feels honored.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to have that recognition,&rdquo; Luongo says. &ldquo;I think there are a lot of great goalies in the league so any time you get the chance to be recognized as No. 1 you embrace it and you want to make sure you stay there as long as you can.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011396/9184931-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="1194" height="1506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>2 EVGENI NABOKOV</p><p><b>LECLAIRE, CONKLIN SURPRISE</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(GLENN JAMES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>While the majority of players ranked among the NHL&rsquo;s top scorers this season are the usual suspects &ndash; Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, Lecavalier, Iginla, Alfredsson &ndash; a quick scan of the goalie stats reveals some new names.</p><p>Like, who in a million years would&rsquo;ve guessed Ty Conklin would be a No. 1 goalie, let alone lead all NHL netminders with a .930 save percentage? Conklin has saved the day for Pittsburgh, running up a 14-4-3 record after joining the Penguins from the AHL when Marc-Andre Fleury went down with a high ankle sprain. The veteran goalie deserves as much credit for the Pens remaining afloat in Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s absence (also due to a high ankle sprain) as anything super soph Evgeni Malkin has done at the other end of the ice.</p><p>For that matter, Columbus&rsquo; Pascal Leclaire was tied for second in save percentage with Tim Thomas of the Bruins (at .925), while Dan Ellis, who has made a significant impact in Nashville, was fourth at .924. It&rsquo;s not until No. 5 when Luongo&ndash;a &ldquo;name&rdquo; goalie &ndash; checked in at .922.</p><p>To be sure, New Jersey&rsquo;s Martin Brodeur, San Jose stalwart Evgeni Nabokov and Anaheim&rsquo;s Jean-Sebastien Giguere have been on top of their games this season and are Vezina candidates.</p><p>But so are some lesser-known names.</p><p>Leclaire, who hadn&rsquo;t shown much to justify being drafted eighth overall in 2001 (albeit playing for a struggling expansion team that gave him little support), stormed out of the gate with shutouts in his first two starts and five in his first nine games. He is just one of a number of goalies who have enjoyed surprising success this year.</p><p>Among the NHL&rsquo;s other netminding revelations are:</p><p><b>Chris Osgood, Detroit</b>&nbsp;The 14-year veteran, who was expected to play sparingly behind Dominik Hasek, has been nothing short of sensational, accumulating 22 wins in 31 games while ranking among the league leaders in both goals-against average and save percentage. For his part, the 43-year-old Hasek has been stellar, too, though that hardly rates as a surprise.</p><p><b>Dan Ellis, Nashville</b>&nbsp;When Tomas Vokoun departed for Florida &ndash; where he has played very well &ndash; it was assumed the No. 1 job in Nashville would automatically defer to holdover Chris Mason. But Ellis, a Dallas second-rounder in 2000 whose only previous NHL start came back in 2003-04, has ensured the Predators continue to have one of the league&rsquo;s best 1-2 punches. He was top 10 in both GAA and save percentage; more importantly, he was superb early in the season when Mason stumbled.</p><p><b>Jose Theodore, Colorado</b> OK, he might not be in his Hart Trophy form of 2002, but there is no denying Theodore saved the day for the Avalanche while Joe Sakic, Ryan Smyth and Paul Stastny convalesced.</p><p><b>Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix</b> Anaheim GM Brian Burke, knowing Bryzgalov wouldn&rsquo;t get much playing time behind Giguere, promised to find him a new hockey home. The Coyotes picked him up on waivers in November and he has provided them with terrific puck-stopping performances ever since.</p><p>Mathieu Garon, signed as a free agent in the summer, has also made an unexpected impact in Edmonton. And in Boston, Tim Thomas received more playing time than anticipated after Manny Fernandez went down with an injury and has responded with some killer play for the B&rsquo;s.</p><p>But it hasn&rsquo;t been all good news for the goalie fraternity. Ottawa&rsquo;s Ray Emery, who helped the Senators make it to the Cup final last spring, has battled injuries and indifference this season.</p><p>It may be a reflection of the team he plays for, but Carolina&rsquo;s Cam Ward has yet to rediscover his Conn Smythe-winning form from two years ago. And, although he has picked it up of late, Washington Capitals veteran Olaf Kolzig, 37, looked pretty long in the tooth in the first half.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011239/9184924-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="971" height="717"><figcaption class="caption-body">8 RYAN MILLER <span class="photo-credit">(MILLER: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02898/9184917-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="704" height="839"><figcaption class="caption-body">10 MARTY TURCO <span class="photo-credit">(TURCO: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03677/9184910-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="519" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body">13 TIM THOMAS <span class="photo-credit">(THOMAS: SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>THE TOP 30</b></h2><p>Rankings based mainly on performance this season, with input from scouts.</p><p>1. <b>ROBERTO LUONGO</b></p><p>Vancouver (2nd in &lsquo;07)</p><p>2. <b>EVGENI NABOKOV</b></p><p>San Jose (26th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>3. <b>MARTIN BRODEUR</b></p><p>New Jersey (1st in &lsquo;07)</p><p>4. <b>PASCAL LECLAIRE</b></p><p>Columbus (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>5. <b>CHRIS OSGOOD</b></p><p>Detroit (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>6. <b>J-S GIGUERE</b></p><p>Anaheim (4th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>7. <b>TOMAS VOKOUN</b></p><p>Florida (20th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>8. <b>RYAN MILLER</b></p><p>Buffalo (6th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>9. <b>HENRIK LUNDQVIST</b></p><p>NY Rangers (16th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>10. <b>MARTY TURCO</b></p><p>Dallas (8th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>11. <b>MIIKKA KIPRUSOFF</b></p><p>Calgary (3rd in &lsquo;07)</p><p>12. <b>DOMINIK HASEK</b></p><p>Detroit (5th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>13. <b>TIM THOMAS</b></p><p>Boston (28th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>14. <b>ILYA BRYZGALOV</b></p><p>Phoenix (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>15. <b>TY CONKLIN</b></p><p>Pittsburgh (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>16. <b>RICK DIPIETRO</b></p><p>NY Islanders (13th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>17. <b>VESA TOSKALA</b></p><p>Toronto (9th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>18. <b>NIKLAS BACKSTROM</b></p><p>Minnesota (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>19. <b>MANNY LEGACE</b></p><p>St. Louis (22nd in &lsquo;07)</p><p>20. <b>JOSE THEODORE</b></p><p>Colorado (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>21. <b>MARTIN GERBER</b></p><p>Ottawa (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>22. <b>CRISTOBAL HUET</b></p><p>Montreal (21st in &lsquo;07)</p><p>23. <b>MARTIN BIRON</b></p><p>Philadelphia (27th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>24. <b>DAN ELLIS</b></p><p>Nashville (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>25. <b>MATHIEU GARON</b></p><p>Edmonton (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>26. <b>CAM WARD</b></p><p>Carolina (14th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>27. <b>JOSH HARDING</b></p><p>Minnesota (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>28. <b>ANTERO NIITTYMAKI</b></p><p>Philadelphia (unranked in &lsquo;07)</p><p>29. <b>CHRIS MASON</b></p><p>Nashville (12th in &lsquo;07)</p><p>30. <b>KARI LEHTONEN</b></p><p>Atlanta (11th in &lsquo;07)</p><h2><b>FALLING OFF LIST</b></h2><p>These goalies dropped off last year&rsquo;s top-30 list (2007 rank is included).</p><p>1. <b>RAY EMERY, OTT</b> Lost his magic <b>7th</b></p><p>2. <b>M-A FLEURY, PIT</b>&nbsp;Ordinary before injury <b>10th</b></p><p><b>3. M. FERNANDEZ, BOS</b>&nbsp;Sidelined most of season <b>15th</b></p><p><b>4. OLAF KOLZIG, WSH</b>&nbsp;Father Time catching up <b>17th</b></p><p><b>5. D. ROLOSON, EDM</b>&nbsp;Relegated to backup <b>18th</b></p><p><b>6. A. RAYCROFT, TOR</b>&nbsp;Relegated to doghouse <b>19th</b></p><p><b>7. J. HOLMQVIST, TB</b>&nbsp;Best of Bolts&rsquo; bad lot <b>23rd</b></p><p><b>8. N. KHABIBULIN, CHI</b>&nbsp;Lacking consistency <b>24th</b></p><p><b>9. PETER BUDAJ, COL</b>&nbsp;Usurped by Theodore <b>25th</b></p><p><b>10. ED BELFOUR</b>&nbsp;Playing in Sweden <b>29th</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-01

GOALIE ISSUE 2008

NHL’S Top 30 Goalies

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011345/9184983-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>2-for-1 Wings</p><p>With Detroit&rsquo;s league-leading tandem, it doesn&rsquo;t matter who is in net.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03691/9184990-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="207" height="246"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HERE IS NOT THE SLIGHTEST DOUBT in my mind that, given the opportunity, every GM in the NHL would willingly sell off members of his extended family if it meant acquiring a front-line goaltender such as Roberto Luongo or Martin Brodeur.</p><p>But take a peek at the NHL standings for a second. Notice anything? Notice the top teams in each conference at the midpoint of the season have something in common? Notice what kind of goaltending set-up both the Red Wings and Senators have been employing this year?</p><p>That&rsquo;s right &ndash; the platoon system. And Ottawa and Detroit aren&rsquo;t the only teams splitting their netminding duties, either.</p><p>The upstart Boston Bruins have a de facto platoon of Tim Thomas and either Alex Auld, Tuukka Rask or the injured-but-possibly-returning-soon Manny Fernandez. The injury-plagued Colorado Avalanche have managed to stay in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race in part because of a partnership between Jose Theodore and Peter Budaj.</p><p>In Minnesota, Niklas Backstrom has played 37 games, while teammate Josh Harding has been in 23. In Nashville, Chris Mason has appeared in 40 games, with Dan Ellis patrolling the pipes in 24 contests. And in Pittsburgh, the three-headed monster of Marc-Andre Fleury, Ty Conklin and Dany Sabourin had each played 21 times by mid-February.</p><p>That makes seven potential playoff contenders with a platoon.</p><p>But does that make for a widening trend?</p><p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a little bit of a trend and I think it&rsquo;s also dictated a little by the (collective bargaining agreement),&rdquo; said Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill, whose organization has thrived this season with a 1A-1B knockout net punch of Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re Vancouver and you&rsquo;ve got Luongo, you&rsquo;ve got $6.5 million wrapped up in him and all you should have is a young kid or a veteran No. 2 as your backup.</p><p>&ldquo;Or you go the way we went, with 1A and 1B guys and between them they make $4 or 5 million. It really depends on how you want to disperse your money.&rdquo;</p><p>Detroit coach Mike Babcock said his team&rsquo;s situation shouldn&rsquo;t be seen as the way of the future for the rest of the league.</p><p>&ldquo;This is what works for us,&rdquo; Babcock said. &ldquo;In our situation, it&rsquo;s a real good thing for us at this point in Dom&rsquo;s career, it keeps him fresh for the times we really need him. And Ozzie&rsquo;s played real well for us, so it&rsquo;s a positive thing.</p><p>&ldquo;The other thing is, some nights when you&rsquo;re playing your backup goalie, your team doesn&rsquo;t believe it can win. That&rsquo;s not the case with us. And that&rsquo;s why we have a chance to win every night.&rdquo;</p><p>Detroit&rsquo;s management team had to make the money work between Hasek and Osgood &ndash; the former signed a one-year, $4.1-million contract last summer; the latter is finishing up a one-year, $850,000 contract, and inked a three-year, $4.5-million contract extension in January. But the Wings also had to ensure the two could live with not being The Man in goal.</p><p>&ldquo;They have to be compatible,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s where we&rsquo;re very fortunate, as Dom and Chris are very good friends on and off the ice. They both respect each other&rsquo;s careers. They&rsquo;ve both had success and they respect that by supporting each other.&rdquo;</p><p>For Osgood, a 15-year veteran, splitting ice time with Hasek makes the marathon grind of the regular season far easier to deal with. It also helps that the Wings goalies are 1-2 in goals-against average to lead the rest of the league.</p><p>&ldquo;I know it&rsquo;s tradition in the league for teams to go with one guy most of the time,&rdquo; Osgood said. &ldquo;But I think there are so many games and they&rsquo;re so much more condensed than they ever have been before. It&rsquo;s tough on guys, getting worn down like that. &ldquo;Honestly, if you&rsquo;ve got two really</p><p>good guys, I don&rsquo;t think the number of games (each one plays) makes a difference. Yeah, a guy can go in there and play 65, 70 games. But if you do that, when the playoffs come, you&rsquo;re playing, but you&rsquo;re not at 100 percent capacity the way you need to be.&rdquo;</p><p>The 35-year-old Osgood and 43-year-old Hasek had never played together prior to last season, when both rejoined Detroit for their second stint with the franchise. And according to the younger of the two goalies, it&rsquo;s probably better things worked out that way.</p><p>&ldquo;Six, seven years ago, maybe Dom and I couldn&rsquo;t have played together,&rdquo; Osgood said.</p><p>&ldquo;But now there&rsquo;s literally no egos at this point in our careers. We just enjoy playing together and we just want to win.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02968/9184976-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="501" height="384"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04500/9184969-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="76" height="78"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For Adam&rsquo;s web-exclusive Screen Shots column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-01

TWO MASKS CAN BE BETTER THAN ONE

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY</div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>N ITS ATTEMPT TO INCREASE SCORING by limiting goaltenders&rsquo; ability to handle the puck, did the NHL inadvertently reduce the number of scoring chances?</p><p>The league is not prepared to say so at this point, but when you watch games today, how often do you see a goalie wander from his net and get in trouble with the puck?</p><p>Before the NHL introduced the trapezoid &ndash; the only area behind the net where goalies are actually allowed to play the puck &ndash; you&rsquo;d see guys mishandling the puck all over the place. And many of their misadventures led to scoring chances for the opposition.</p><p>NHL senior vice-president Colin Campbell says going back and allowing goalies to play the puck &ndash; anywhere and everywhere &ndash; is not on the league&rsquo;s radar screen at the moment. He says the reason for the change was simple.</p><p>&ldquo;On the dump-ins, where the defenseman can&rsquo;t hold up the attacking player, we were hoping the goalies would stay in their net rather than chase after a slow dump-in,&rdquo; Campbell says. &ldquo;We thought we&rsquo;d generate more offense that way. But you make these rule changes and you never know how the coaches, the goalies and players are going to adapt over the next few years.&rdquo;</p><p>Campbell wonders if the league went far enough in restricting goalie movement.</p><p>&ldquo;I was in favor of goalies not to be able to play the puck at all,&rdquo; Campbell says. &ldquo;The question was, why are you curtailing a talent a goalie has developed &ndash; puckhandling skills, i.e. Martin Brodeur? Well, why do we put goalies in huge equipment with gloves where they can&rsquo;t handle the puck? Because this is a position where they are there to stop the puck. If they want to shoot and pass pucks, then be a skater, not a goalie.&rdquo;</p><p>The trapezoid was born out of the NHL&rsquo;s attempt to generate more offense coming out of the lockout. The league figured if it could limit the goaltenders&rsquo; ability to chase down loose pucks and rifle them up the ice, often out of the zone, it would lead to more goals.</p><p>Certain goalies, such as Brodeur in New Jersey, the Islanders&rsquo; Rick DiPietro and Marty Turco in Dallas, are experts at puckhandling. But there were numerous other goalies &ndash; Curtis Joseph and Arturs Irbe spring to mind &ndash; whose puckhandling attempts turned into chaotic adventures. The more often the bad ones chased after loose pucks and the further they traveled from their nets, the more scoring chances they generated &ndash; for the other team.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011203/9185021-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="969" height="1440"><figcaption class="caption-body">Handle with care: Jose Theodore greets the puck in his trapezoid. <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT AUDETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;Some goalies, like Brodeur, would come out and make good, quick economical plays,&rdquo; Campbell says. &ldquo;On the other hand you would get guys making crazy plays. As a coach I remember telling my players, &lsquo;This guy will make crazy plays with the puck. Half of the time he&rsquo;ll hand it right to you so force him and then get ready because you&rsquo;re going to get a big, fat one.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Campbell says allowing goalies to wander after the puck leads to other issues, and he has a point.</p><p>&ldquo;Once you let them go out, they venture into the corner,&rdquo; Campbell says.</p><p>&ldquo;We always had a debate about why you can&rsquo;t hit them. Goalies started to use that as a free pass. They also started to embellish the contact to draw penalties.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-01

GETTING IT SQUARE ON THE TRAPEZOID

<div class="byline">BY AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011355/9185087-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Columbus goalie Pascal Leclaire has been focused and fantastic this year. <span class="photo-credit">(LECLAIRE: JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>PASCAL LECLAIRE HAS his hang-ups, like any pro athlete.</p><p>Chicken and pasta are a required part of his daily routine, as is the three-or four-song hip-hop loop &ndash; Kanye West, 50 Cent and others &ndash; he listens to on his way to the rink before a game.</p><p>&ldquo;I do the same stretches in the same order before every game, too,&rdquo; Leclaire said.</p><p>But the Blue Jackets goaltender, enjoying a long-awaited breakout season in the NHL, is a remarkably normal guy in the wacky world of goalies.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve met two normal goaltenders in all my years in hockey,&rdquo; said Columbus left winger Jason Chimera, &ldquo;Ty Conklin and Pascal Leclaire.</p><p>&ldquo;To me, Pascal seems more like another forward than a goaltender.&rdquo;</p><p>Leclaire&rsquo;s numbers as of mid-February were otherworldly. He led the NHL with eight shutouts, was tied for second with a .925 save percentage and was third in goals-against average with a 2.09 mark.</p><p>If the Blue Jackets weren&rsquo;t among the league&rsquo;s most inept offensive clubs, he&rsquo;d have more wins and a place in the Vezina Trophy discussion.</p><p>All the while, the 25-year-old hasn&rsquo;t changed. He remains the same happy-go-lucky guy he was in previous seasons, when a string of leg injuries could have easily turned him into a cynic.</p><p>Consider how Leclaire handles the media.</p><p>His cell phone is always on; he always calls back. On game days, when many goaltenders scurry to the depths of the dressing room, away from the cameras and notebooks, Leclaire is perched in his dressing room stall, open for business.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think if I talk to somebody at 11 in the morning that it&rsquo;s going to affect my game at 7 o&rsquo;clock at night,&rdquo; Leclaire said. &ldquo;To me, that&rsquo;s stupid.</p><p>&ldquo;Maybe it&rsquo;s the way I was brought up. My parents are really easy-going. We don&rsquo;t take ourselves too seriously. I guess that&rsquo;s just the way I was brought up.&rdquo;</p><p>Leclaire has bonded with Blue Jackets goaltending coach Clint Malarchuk, who previously coached Roberto Luongo with the Florida Panthers.</p><p>&ldquo;Roberto and I had a great relationship,&rdquo; Malarchuk said.</p><p>&ldquo;We were on the same page, you know? Well, Pazzy and I are like that, too, maybe even a little closer. I really like this kid. He&rsquo;s one of the guys. He doesn&rsquo;t get all caught up in the stuff that&rsquo;s out there. He&rsquo;s the class clown, you know? And that keeps everybody loose, because you don&rsquo;t always see that from the goalies.&rdquo;</p><p>Leclaire said it&rsquo;s all about enjoying the ride.</p><p>&ldquo;I know how lucky I am, because most hockey players don&rsquo;t get to do this, play in the NHL,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So I have fun. I don&rsquo;t put that much pressure on myself and my family never did when I was growing up, either.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to look back in 10 or 15 years and say I was under a ton of pressure. I want to enjoy it as much as I can.&rdquo;</p><p>The Blue Jackets are looking forward to the next decade or so, too. Leclaire is, in the words of coach Ken Hitchcock, a &ldquo;franchise goaltender.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;We always knew it was there,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;It was just a matter of Leclaire staying healthy, staying on the ice.&rdquo;</p><p>But Leclaire&rsquo;s calm demeanor has impressed even the coach.</p><p>&ldquo;Goalies really used to be different ducks, almost an individual athlete within a team sport,&rdquo; Hitchcock said.</p><p>Then he smiled. &ldquo;You know, I had (Ed) Belfour in Dallas.&rdquo;</p><p>Leclaire is no Belfour.</p><p>&ldquo;To me, Pazzy&rsquo;s attitude reminds me a lot of (New Jersey&rsquo;s) Martin Brodeur.&rdquo; For a goalie from Quebec, that is the ultimate compliment.</p><h2><b>Shutout Frequency</b></h2><p>Leclaire has recorded a shutout every 4.6 games he&rsquo;s played this season, to lead the NHL.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02903/9185080-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="180" height="182"></div><p>Pascal Leclaire, Clb</p><p>4.6 GAMES</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03658/9185073-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="180" height="182"></div><p>Dan ELLIS, Nsh</p><p>5.3 GAMES</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04483/9185066-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="180" height="182"></div><p>Henrik LUNDQVIST, Nyr</p><p>7.1 GAMES</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05332/9185059-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="180" height="182"></div><p>Dominik HASEK, Det</p><p>7.4 GAMES</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-06248/9185052-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="180" height="183"></div><p>Mathieu GARON, Edm</p><p>8.2 GAMES<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-01

LECLAIRE DISCOVERS GAME IN COLUMBUS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOHN GLENNON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011286/9185118-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dan Ellis <span class="photo-credit">(ELLIS: STEPHEN DUNN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Anonymous goalie bides time in minors, gets chance in Nashville, suddenly starts putting up surprising NHL numbers.</p><p>If the story sounds familiar, it should.</p><p>A year ago, it was Chris Mason who used the opportunity created by Tomas Vokoun&rsquo;s injury to post 40 wins and earn an NHL starting job at 31.</p><p>Dan Ellis won&rsquo;t put up 40 victories this year, but the 28-year-old &ndash; who had played all of one NHL game prior to this season &ndash; has made a huge contribution. As Nashville prepared for the stretch, Ellis had crafted a 13-5-2 mark and worked his way into a rotation with Mason.</p><p>&ldquo;I think there&rsquo;s a tremendous amount of similarity in what Mason and Ellis have done,&rdquo; said coach Barry Trotz. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re older, depth or minor league guys who got an opportunity and seized it.&rdquo;</p><p>Ellis was 20 when he was drafted out of the USHL in 2000. After three years at Nebraska-Omaha, he was a 23-year-old late starter in the pro ranks, leading Idaho to the ECHL title in 2004. He had a couple of good seasons in the Dallas system, but after losing out to Mike Smith in the battle to back up Marty Turco, became a free agent last summer. He chose to sign with Nashville.</p><p>&ldquo;I knew I was getting a little older and my chances of making the NHL were getting slimmer and slimmer,&rdquo; Ellis said.</p><p>He brought along a new mentality.</p><p>&ldquo;In years past I always tried to figure out what was going to happen&hellip;I over-complicated things,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This year I&rsquo;ve tried to live more in each individual moment and not worry about the future.&rdquo;</p><p>Judging by his four shutouts and .924 save percentage, its working.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0027-01

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS FOR ELLIS

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN COSTELLO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011339/9185156-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al Montoya <span class="photo-credit">(ANDY MARLIN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>T SEEMS LIKE AN ETERNITY since the New York Rangers used an early pick in the 2004 draft to select 19-year-old Alvaro Montoya from the Michigan Wolverines.</p><p>It was only four years ago, but a lot has happened since that sweltering June day at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C.</p><p>A lockout has come and gone, Lord Stanley&rsquo;s Cup paid a long visit to the team and fans of Carolina, and Sidney Crosby, drafted a year after Montoya, is in the midst of his third NHL campaign. (At least, he will be when he returns from injury.)</p><p>Such is the nature of development for a goalie. It&rsquo;s not unusual for a goalie prospect to spend five years or more in the development system before getting a sniff of NHL action. If Montoya, now 23, was playing any position other than goalie, the draft pundits would&rsquo;ve labeled this sixth overall pick a monumental flop by now.</p><p>Instead, the Rangers are sitting back contentedly and watching him develop with the AHL&rsquo;s Hartford Wolf Pack.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re comfortable with his advancement,&rdquo; said Rangers director of player personnel Gordie Clark. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no temptation to rush him along. He&rsquo;s getting a lot of good game action in Hartford. He&rsquo;s on the right course.&rdquo;</p><p>The Rangers are in no hurry to push Montoya because Henrik Lundqvist is again doing a fine job in his third season between the New York pipes.</p><p>It&rsquo;s interesting to see how teams approach their goaltending situation. In 2000-01, with the Rangers in the midst of a seven-year run out of the playoffs, they had to face the cold reality of finding an eventual replacement for 33-year-old Mike Richter. Backup Kirk McLean was 34 and not part of the future.</p><p>So with the 10th pick in the 2001 draft, GM Glen Sather was hoping to select one of two excellent prospects, Pascal Leclaire or Dan Blackburn. Columbus took Leclaire eighth overall, leaving the Rangers to grab Blackburn 10th after Chicago picked Tuomo Ruutu ninth.</p><p>Eighteen-year-old Blackburn was so impressive in camp, New York kept him as Richter&rsquo;s backup and he played very well in 31 games that season. But Blackburn injured his shoulder in practice the next season and the nerve damage was so severe, it forced him to alter his style. He was never the same again and was out of the NHL for good at age 20 in 2003.</p><p>Still desperate for a goalie-of-the-future &ndash; the Rangers again floundered with Mike Dunham and Jussi Markkanen in 2003-04 &ndash; Sather again turned to the draft in 2004, picking Montoya sixth overall.</p><p>After the lockout season of 2004-05, Montoya turned pro rather than return for his senior year at Michigan. It was projected he would serve as the Rangers backup in 2005-06 while Kevin Weekes received the bulk of playing time. But instead, Montoya was outplayed in training camp by Lundqvist, the 205th overall pick in 2000.</p><p>Lundqvist was slow to appear on the Rangers&rsquo; prospect radar screen. He wasn&rsquo;t listed among New York&rsquo;s top 10 prospects in 2001 or 2002, appeared for the first time in <i>Future Watch 2003</i> (sixth on the Rangers&rsquo; list), then in 2004 was 74th overall (third among Ranger prospects).</p><p>In <i>Future Watch 2005</i>, Montoya was 31st overall (second on the Rangers), while Lundqvist, almost 23 years old, was 67th overall.</p><p>So Montoya can take solace in the fact his running mate didn&rsquo;t make it until he was 23. Now in his fourth <i>Future Watch</i> issue, Montoya was 28th overall in 2006 and 54th overall in 2007. He&rsquo;s 51st this year.</p><p>The young goaltenders on the next page were among the top 75 NHL-affiliated prospects in <i>Future Watch 2008</i> (their rank is in parentheses.) Voting was conducted by a panel of 21 NHL scouts who were asked to rank prospects in terms of five-to-10-year upside.</p><p>(The <i>Future Watch 2008</i> issue is available in early March.)</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011187/9185149-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="877" height="1519"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAREY PRICE, MTL (1) <b>He has won at every level and it won&rsquo;t be long before he&rsquo;s the main man in Montreal.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES FOR NHL)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>FUTURE WATCH 2008</b></h2><p>Fourteen goalies are among the top 75 prospects in <i>Future Watch 2008</i>. Here they are, with ranking in parentheses.</p><p>JONATHAN BERNIER, L.A. (10)</p><p>The Kings were tempted to keep him as a 19-year-old. They likely will as a 20-year-old.</p><p>TUUKKA RASK, BOS (11)</p><p>Will spell Tim Thomas superbly in a season or two after apprenticing in the AHL.</p><p>STEVE MASON, CLB (13)</p><p>Cool customer led Canada to WJC gold and the Blue Jackets think he&rsquo;s almost ready to step in.</p><p>ONDREJ PAVELEC, ATL (25)</p><p>Got a taste of action this year and will surely get more given Kari Lehtonen&rsquo;s injury history.</p><p>LELAND IRVING, CGY (42)</p><p> Dropped from No. 15 ranking in Future Watch 2007; his development has stalled.</p><p>JUSTIN POGGE, TOR (43)</p><p> Vesa Toskala&rsquo;s ascension gives him another year or two to refine his style on the farm.</p><p>AL MONTOYA, NYR (51)</p><p> Has a tendency to try too hard and overplay the puck and game. But, a real battler.</p><p>PEKKA RINNE, NSH (52)</p><p>At 25, he&rsquo;s more than ready to step in if either Chris Mason or Dan Ellis start to falter.</p><p>JAMES HOWARD, DET (55)</p><p> He&rsquo;ll surely be Chris Osgood&rsquo;s backup next season and play 20-25 games.</p><p>BEN BISHOP, STL (62)</p><p> With skates and goalie mask on, he&rsquo;s a seven-footer. Bigger nets surely wouldn&rsquo;t affect him.</p><p>SIMEON VARLAMOV, WSH (67)</p><p>Surprising fall from No. 36 ranking last year, but he&rsquo;s still on course to replace Olaf Kolzig.</p><p>RIKU HELENIUS, TB (68)</p><p> He has had a middling development year, but the Lightning could use the 19-year-old right now.</p><p>CORY SCHNEIDER, VAN (75)</p><p> Good pedigree, but a lackluster season means he&rsquo;s trade bait for offensive return.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0028-01

DON’T CALL ME A BUST JUST YET

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011346/9185187-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chicago&rsquo;s Patrick Lalime went to the minors before rediscovering his game <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>PATRICK LALIME&rsquo;S CAREER could not have gotten off to a better start &ndash; and that&rsquo;s a mathematical fact.</p><p>Lalime began the 1996-97 season by ringing off a 16-game undefeated streak (14-0-2) to launch his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the longest such streak in NHL history.</p><p>But a funny thing happened on the way to everlasting fame. After a trade to Ottawa, Lalime had some infamous problems in the playoffs.</p><p>Just before the lockout, he was traded to St. Louis. And when play resumed in 2005-06, Lalime&rsquo;s stats took a nosedive. His goals-against average ballooned to 3.64, more than a full goal higher than it had been during his tenure in Ottawa. Last season in Chicago wasn&rsquo;t much better.</p><p>This year, though, Lalime has been reborn. While he is the backup to Nikolai Khabibulin, the Hawks rode Lalime at times and his GAA was back in the respectable 2.50 range.</p><p>So what&rsquo;s the difference this year?</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m having fun playing again,&rdquo; Lalime said.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s so many factors involved in goaltending and it&rsquo;s a thin line between confidence and not having confidence.&rdquo;</p><p>Clearly in the past, Lalime had lost that.</p><p>&ldquo;You start doubting yourself,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Which is the worst thing you can do.&rdquo;</p><p>Unfortunately, being an NHL goaltender is a tricky position to keep and many have &ldquo;flamed out&rdquo; despite having years left in the tank.</p><p>A look at the past decade&rsquo;s winners and runners-up for the Vezina and William Jennings Trophies is evidence of that.</p><p>Names such as Roman Turek, Robert Esche, Tommy Salo and Roman Cechmanek have all disappeared from the NHL mere seasons after being on top of the league.</p><p>Philadelphia Flyers goalie coach Reggie Lemelin knows something about the position; he played 15 years in the NHL, but making it to the big-time was a struggle. Stuck behind Pat Riggin and &lsquo;Miracle on Ice&rsquo; hero Jim Craig in Atlanta, Lemelin didn&rsquo;t get a real chance to shine until Craig was traded and the team relocated to Calgary.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s where I think I found my niche,&rdquo; Lemelin said. &ldquo;And it got easier from there.&rdquo;</p><p>Simply staying in the NHL can create a vicious spiral for goaltenders and Lemelin thinks that lack of job security is where a lot of trouble starts.</p><p>&ldquo;When every game is a fight for your life, it&rsquo;s difficult,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Once you&rsquo;re No. 1, you can make mistakes. You can play for the team instead of playing for yourself.&rdquo;</p><p>And if a player loses his edge, look out.</p><p>&ldquo;You get this rep around the league that you&rsquo;ve lost it,&rdquo; Lemelin said. &ldquo;Then, bang! There&rsquo;s always somebody waiting in the wings to take your place.</p><p>&ldquo;Look at Robert Esche. He was great for us after a couple years and even played (for the U.S.) in the 2004 World Cup. But during the lockout he was involved in the NHL Players&rsquo; Association and didn&rsquo;t play anywhere else the whole time. When he came back he had a hip problem and couldn&rsquo;t regain the edge.&rdquo;</p><p>When Lalime was going through a tough stretch (not to mention injuries), he spent a good chunk of time in Peoria with the Blues&rsquo; AHL affiliate. The goaltender credits that experience with helping him get back on track.</p><p>&ldquo;When I was in Peoria, it was about getting back to reality,&rdquo; Lalime said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re traveling by bus, playing three games in three nights&hellip;I enjoyed my time there, but you want to be back in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>With that in mind, Lalime kept working when he got back to the big league, doing homework on his opponents and practising a lot of game situation-type drills.</p><p>Similarly, Lemelin likes to simplify things for his charges in Philadelphia.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll concentrate on one technical aspect,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You narrow it down. Maybe it&rsquo;s being more aggressive, working on balance or making sure no pucks go through your legs or arms.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;It gives them something to hold on to.&rdquo;</p><p>Lalime offers this advice:</p><p>&ldquo;Never give up,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>&ldquo;You still have it and it&rsquo;s not the end of the world. Sometimes it&rsquo;s the little things and when you find those, you&rsquo;ll be great.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-01

COMING BACK FROM THE BRINK

<div class="byline">&#x2013; WITH BRIAN BIGGANE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011238/9185218-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Shooting Gallery</p><p>Tomas Vokoun faces more shots per game than any other NHL goalie.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES FOR THE NHL)</span></figcaption></div><p>I HAVE TO ADMIT, it was tough being traded from Nashville to Florida last summer.</p><p>I played with a lot of guys for a long time there and, as a franchise original who was a Predator since the first season in 1998-99, was there through the so-called rough times. Last season, though, Nashville was one of the top teams in the NHL. The team was built very well and had a chance to contend for the Stanley Cup for several years. So, it was definitely disappointing to leave.</p><p>But there were circumstances which I understood. The team was for sale, there were financial problems. So, I wasn&rsquo;t the only one moved. Paul Kariya (to St. Louis), Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen (both to Philadelphia) were also sent packing. It&rsquo;s always going to be tough to leave when you win 51 games and it was definitely&hellip;not disappointing, but difficult. I had signed a four-year extension so it was definitely a surprise, and in a way, a disappointment to be traded.</p><p>But you have to accept it; you know it happens in this business. It can happen to anybody. Players get traded and have to deal with it. During the summer, when I arrived in Florida and found a house, it was better. I still miss people, like my friends in Nashville, but we have a good bunch of guys here.</p><p>There&rsquo;s a chance to do something special; I want this team to get better, to make the playoffs. You have to find a positive even if you don&rsquo;t feel it&rsquo;s a good thing. Coming to Florida is another challenge for me. You can&rsquo;t think about what might have happened. I&rsquo;m here and it&rsquo;s another chance to show what I can do. So, I&rsquo;m past any disappointment. You can think about that stuff only for so long.</p><p>I&rsquo;m asked a lot whether it&rsquo;s a challenge to replace Roberto Luongo, but I don&rsquo;t see it as me replacing him. It would have been different if there hadn&rsquo;t been a year in between (Eddie Belfour and Alex Auld tended goal for Florida last season). There would have been a lot more pressure on me. Luongo is definitely one of the best and it&rsquo;s tough to replace a player like that. I&rsquo;m just trying to do the best job I can, and that&rsquo;s all you can ask. You can&rsquo;t ask someone to be someone else. I consider myself to be a pretty good player and I try to be the best I can be.</p><p>So beating Luongo and Vancouver back on Feb. 1, that was satisfying not because I beat him, but because it was a big win for us, the team. We came from behind to tie the score three times in that game and then won in a shootout. But it&rsquo;s nothing personal; I didn&rsquo;t feel any extra satisfaction.</p><p>I&rsquo;ve faced the most shots of any goalie this year and played a lot of games, but I don&rsquo;t look at it as work. I just don&rsquo;t see it that way. When you play as much as I do, it means you don&rsquo;t have to do all these things off the ice that I don&rsquo;t like, such as running. Rather, you want to be rested to give yourself the chance to play a lot, which I do like. In my career, the games have always been the most fun. You do more of the off-ice stuff when you&rsquo;re a backup goalie. When you only play 30-35 games a season, you have to work harder to stay in shape. But when you play a lot, you don&rsquo;t have to do much off the ice. You get your conditioning by playing.</p><p>I&rsquo;m still feeling pretty fresh this season, but part of that involves winning and losing. You feel better when you&rsquo;re winning and worse when losing. That&rsquo;s only natural.</p><p>I know it&rsquo;s conceivable Florida and Nashville could face each other in the Stanley Cup final, but I can&rsquo;t say I think about that possibility. I would obviously love to get the Panthers into the playoffs and that&rsquo;s something I set as my goal at the beginning of the season. But beyond that, I haven&rsquo;t been thinking about much of anything.</p><p>I still pay attention to how Nashville is doing, though. I follow the games and have a lot of friends there. Like I said, I was disappointed when the Preds traded me, but they gave me a chance to play in the NHL, I had some great years there and they treated me exceptionally well.</p><p>I definitely wish Nashville well. It&rsquo;s not like when you leave a team and have a sour taste in your mouth. That&rsquo;s not the case. The Predators treated me well and I&rsquo;m always going to remember that.</p><p>But, if we actually get to the final and play Nashville, I&rsquo;ll do everything I can to make sure the Predators don&rsquo;t score a goal. Sorry, guys.</p><h2><b>Tomas VOKOUN</b></h2><p>Florida Panthers 33.1</p><p>Jason LaBarbera, LA 33.0</p><p>Kari Lehtonen, Atl 32.9</p><p>Martin Biron, Phi 32.3</p><p>Tim Thomas, Bos 32.0<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-01

‘IT WAS TOUGH BEING TRADED’

f0032-01

NHL TEAM REPORTS GOALIE SUPPORT

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01784/9185577-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK NEWMAN)</span></figcaption></div><p>THERE ARE A FEW THINGS you notice about defenseman Jakub Kindl right away.</p><p>The fluidity of motion as he skates. The ease in which he gets from point A to point B. The ability to make a crisp pass. His dreadful plus/minus.</p><p>The Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; prized defensive prospect has a Winnipeg wind chill value for a plus/minus, at minus-22 through 47 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins.</p><p>But because of Kindl&rsquo;s skills and talent, the Red Wings aren&rsquo;t overly concerned about what the stat sheet says. In junior with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Kitchener Rangers, he was mostly all offense. As an AHL rookie, the 21-year-old Kindl is trying to alter his style on the fly.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s some high-end talent there, no question,&rdquo; said Griffins coach Mike Stothers, a former pro defenseman. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s had to change his game. He has to learn to play in his own end.&rdquo;</p><p>The transformation has been challenging.</p><p>The past two seasons, Kindl was a point-a-game player in the OHL. With the Griffins, who are the offensive antithesis of the high-powered parent Wings, he has been merely adequate with three goals and 13 points.</p><p>The organization isn&rsquo;t looking for big numbers from him right now &ndash; in any statistical category. Drafted 19th overall in 2005, the Red Wings&rsquo; highest pick in 14 years, Detroit has only the big picture in mind for Kindl.</p><p>The Wings know the plus/minus will improve and the points will come when Kindl learns to handle the puck better under pressure. When he becomes stronger. When he reads the play and recognizes danger more quickly.</p><p>&ldquo;He has to be more efficient in his own end,&rdquo; Stothers said. &ldquo;The only way you can go through that change is through experience and you can only get that experience by playing.&rdquo;</p><p>Kindl, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound Czech, is playing plenty for the Griffins in all situations.</p><p>&ldquo;The beauty of it is there isn&rsquo;t a need to develop him quickly,&rdquo; Stothers said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not going to be on the rollercoaster, the up-and-down yo-yo (between the NHL and AHL). He knows he&rsquo;ll be here all year and he can just concentrate on his game.&rdquo;</p><p>So, is the awful plus/minus a fair gauge of his overall play? In many ways, yes, since no other Griffins blueliner is worse than minus-5.</p><p>&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t put all your emphasis on it, but you do have that number for a reason,&rdquo; Stothers said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not all bad luck and being a victim of circumstance.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very hard as a defenseman to step into the NHL and be consistent. It takes a lot of work. That&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s here.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02474/9185570-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="214" height="214"></div><h2><b>JAKUB KINDL</b></h2><p>Grand Rapids Ht. 6-3 Wt. 200 Pos. D Age 21</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03364/9185563-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="228" height="229"></div><p>AND COUNTING 14</p><p>Kindl is the Wings&rsquo; highest draft pick in 14 years</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07199/9185556-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="75" height="76"></div><p>For more on hockey&rsquo;s best prospects, check out Ryan Kennedy&rsquo;s Hot List in the feature section on <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0040-01

TRYING TO RE-KINDL GAME AT PRO LEVEL

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-08174/9185608-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="300" height="76"></div><p>One thing the Quad City Flames don&rsquo;t do is score a lot of goals.</p><p>So it defies logic that fifth-year right winger Grant Stevenson, the grandson of Hall of Fame goalie Glenn Hall, is enjoying his most productive season as a pro.</p><p>After four months and 52 games, Stevenson had scored 25 goals, 31 assists and 56 points. Those totals surpassed his career highs in each category (previous bests were 18 goals, 26 assists and 39 points).</p><p>The 26-year-old Stevenson has been a pleasant find for the Calgary Flames, who signed him over the summer as a free agent. The Flames like his nose for the net.</p><p>REALITY CHECK When Darren McCarty was signed to a tryout contract by the Grand Rapids Griffins in early February, the long-time Detroit Red Wings tough-guy winger found a surprise when he walked into the dressing room for the first time.</p><p>Third-year right winger Jamie Tardif gave up sweater No. 25 so McCarty would be able to wear his usual number.</p><p>&ldquo;If someone does that in the NHL, you get him a Rolex,&rdquo; Mc-Carty told Griffins broadcaster Bob Kaser. &ldquo;Down here, I might have to get him a Timex.&rdquo;</p><p>McCarty began a comeback in January with Flint of the International League before joining the Griffins.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05253/9185629-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="175" height="175"></div><h2><b>HEY CAL O&rsquo;REILLY,</b>&nbsp;<b>EXPECT THE CALL</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06225/9185622-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="185" height="108"></div><p>In his second season with Milwaukee, O&rsquo;Reilly doesn&rsquo;t score the Admirals&rsquo; goals (nine), the crafty center just sets them all up (41 assists).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04295/9185615-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="186" height="272"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0040-08

Stevenson stokes Flames

<div class="byline">BY PHIL JANACK</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0041-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01672/9185674-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CHRIS RUTSCH)</span></figcaption></div><p>IN HIS PREVIOUS TWO SEASONS, journeyman blueliner Andrew Hutchinson spent as much time on the sidelines as he did on the ice.</p><p>Cursed with injuries and caught in a numbers game when healthy, Hutchinson was limited to 77 games with the Carolina Hurricanes. None of them came in the post-season, as the Canes didn&rsquo;t qualify last spring after winning the 2006 Stanley Cup.</p><p>This season has been a different story. Signed as a free agent by the New York Rangers, Hutchinson, 27, is in the midst of a career year with the Hartford Wolf Pack.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been fun to play every night, getting that opportunity and knowing I&rsquo;m going to play instead of trying to guess every week, day-to-day, what&rsquo;s going to happen,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a consistency thing, coming here and playing hard every night&hellip;It&rsquo;s one thing I had to work on the most, because over the last couple years with the injuries and not playing, I got scratched a lot. It&rsquo;s something I had to come down here and prove.&rdquo;</p><p>Consider it done. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound Hutchinson was on pace for career highs in every offensive category, ranking with the AHL leaders in assists (29), points (38) and plus-minus (plus-13) among defensemen through 46 games.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been comfortable right from the beginning,&rdquo; Hutchinson said. &ldquo;Coach (Ken Gernander) came right up and said they had faith in me and I was going to play a lot of minutes and I think that helps just with the confidence coming to a new team and a place where I&rsquo;ve never been.&rdquo;</p><p>Gernander praised Hutchinson, who won a Calder Cup with the Milwaukee Admirals in 2004.</p><p>&ldquo;We use him as much as we can, just because he&rsquo;s such a good player,&rdquo; Gernander said. &ldquo;Obviously, he&rsquo;s got some offensive prowess and he&rsquo;s got some skills on the power play, so we use him whenever he&rsquo;s rested enough. He really battles hard in the defensive zone, as well.&rdquo;</p><p>Hutchinson has fit in so well that he was recently named only the third captain in Hartford history, replacing Craig Weller. Gernander served that role from the Wolf Pack&rsquo;s 1997 inception until his retirement in 2005.</p><p>&ldquo;More times than not, he&rsquo;s a pretty soft-spoken guy who leads by example,&rdquo; Gernander said.</p><p>In his last full AHL season, back in 2004-05, Hutchinson had 10 goals and 45 points in 76 games for Milwaukee.</p><p>As he did then, Hutchinson is hoping to parlay his recent success into a full-time NHL gig.</p><p>&ldquo;Obviously, everybody here wants to play at the next level and that includes me, too,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I want to get back. I have to play well here and prove myself again.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02416/9185667-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="214" height="214"></div><h2><b>ANDREW HUTCHINSON</b></h2><p>Hartford Wolf Pack</p><p>Ht. 6-2</p><p>Wt. 198</p><p>Pos. D</p><p>Age 27</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03335/9185660-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="150" height="140"></div><p>AND COUNTING 1</p><p>Position among defensemen scoring after 46 games<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-01

TIME’S UP, SO IS PRODUCTION

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PHIL JANACK</div><p>The two-referee system that has been part of the NHL culture since 1998 remains a rarity in the AHL.</p><p>Citing issues of quality and cost, president Dave Andrews said it will likely remain that way for the foreseeable future.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gotten a lot of criticism about not being in a two-man system,&rdquo; Andrews said.</p><p>The AHL has two scenarios where it will use two referees: if an NHL referee is coming back from injury or layoff and needs ice time before returning to action, or to give a soon-to-be promoted AHL referee experience in that setup.</p><p>After experimenting with 20 games per team in 1998-99 and expanding to 50 games per team in 1999-2000, the NHL went to two referees full time in 2000-01.</p><p>Significant cost increases associated with bringing in a second set of refs makes a two-man setup prohibitive without financial aid from the NHL, Andrews said. There is also the question of whether enough qualified officials in lower leagues are ready for the jump.</p><p>When we sat down with NHL GMs last year, I said, &lsquo;Do you guys feel it&rsquo;s critical for us to go to the two-man system?&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Andrews said. &ldquo;They said, &lsquo;No, we think it&rsquo;s critical you train the guys you have better in the one-man system.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1092/9185712-1-eng-US/f0041-102.jpg" title="f0041-10" width="202" height="271"></div><h2><b>ON</b>&nbsp;<b>TOP</b></h2><h3><b>TOP GOAL-SCORERS</b></h3><p>JEFF TAMBELLINI</p><p>Bridgeport Sound Tigers</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04289/9185705-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="158" height="148"></div><p>28 GOALS</p><p>Pascal Pelletier, Pro 25</p><p>Geoff Platt, Por 25</p><p>Grant Stevenson, QC 25</p><p>Brett Sterling, Chi 24</p><p>Jason Krog, Chi 24</p><p>Troy Brouwer, Rck 24<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-10

One zebra remains enough

<p>IF ONE GAME STANDS OUT as the moment Akim Aliu came of age, it would be Feb. 2, 2008.</p><p>He and his London Knights were in Windsor, where he&rsquo;d begun his OHL career in 2005 under a cloud of controversy stemming from the Steve Downie hazing affair.</p><p>After only 18 games with Windsor, where the 16-year-old had done little to endear himself to teammates, he was traded to Sudbury.</p><p>Two weeks before the 2007 playoffs, Wolves coach-GM Mike Foligno sent Aliu home. He was eventually dealt to London and is finally in a place where he&rsquo;s happy.</p><p>It showed that night in Windsor.</p><p>The crowd booed every time Aliu touched the puck, but the louder they got, the harder he worked, scoring two goals and an assist in a 4-2 victory.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard not to hear it, but I kind of get up for stuff like that,&rdquo; said Aliu, a second round selection of Chicago&rsquo;s at last year&rsquo;s draft.</p><p>There was a time when the fiery-tempered teen would have let the fans get to him, then brooded. But Aliu&rsquo;s effort in that game didn&rsquo;t go unnoticed by his future employer.</p><p>&ldquo;He has everything it takes to play in the National Hockey League and it appears now he&rsquo;s putting the mental components together,&rdquo; said Chicago Blackhawks assistant GM Rick Dudley.</p><p>Dudley has spent time getting to know Aliu as a person and likes what he sees, especially the sacrifices Aliu has made, such as accepting stints on defense when the blueline was depleted.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really like playing back there that much, but I&rsquo;ll do whatever to help the team win,&rdquo; Aliu said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not about me. I&rsquo;ve been trying to turn around my reputation.&rdquo;</p><p>Dudley was pleased to hear that.</p><p>&ldquo;In the past he may have said &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t want to play defense,&rsquo; &rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s a bright kid. I think he&rsquo;s understood he didn&rsquo;t do everything right in the early part of his career and wants to correct that.</p><p>&ldquo;You get a reputation and it&rsquo;s tough to break. He&rsquo;s trying now to make himself known as a solid team guy who has a lot of talent.&rdquo;</p><p>Of course, that alone doesn&rsquo;t guarantee success.</p><p>&ldquo;It can be very difficult for defensemen to defend him,&rdquo; Dudley said. &ldquo;He needs to find more ways to use his size.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01705/9185785-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="929" height="1234"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;He also needs to realize very few players, unless they&rsquo;re Sidney Crosby or Patrick Kane, come into the National Hockey League as a goal-scorer. They usually start out on the third or fourth line and work their way up.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; JIM CRESSMAN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02436/9185778-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="278" height="151"></div><h2><b>AKIM ALIU</b></h2><p>London Knights</p><p>Ht. 6-3</p><p>Wt. 219</p><p>Pos. RW</p><p>Age 18</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-07181/9185771-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="360" height="73"></div><h3><b>Draft Status</b></h3><p>Selected 56th overall by Chicago in the 2007 NHL draft</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03339/9185764-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="144" height="184"></div><p>AND COUNTING 7</p><p>More points this year already than in any other season</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>Initials success in Tri-City net</b></h2><p>Once again, a goaltender with the initials &lsquo;C.P.&rsquo; is sparkling for the Tri-City Americans. This time, it&rsquo;s Chet Pickard &ndash; not Carey Price. &ldquo;People seemed to talk a lot about &lsquo;Can Chet Pickard fill his shoes?&rsquo; but I can just do what I can do,&rdquo; said Pickard, who has established a franchise record for victories in a season, eclipsing the previous mark of 33 (set by Brian Boucher in 1995-96). Price peaked at 30 victories last season, en route to being named the WHL and CHL goalie of the year. &ldquo;Carey was one of a kind,&rdquo; said Pickard, 18, who played in the 2008 CHL Top Prospects Game. &ldquo;I learned so much from him &ndash; more the mental aspect of the game than anything. I knew I could play at this level.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; ROB VANSTONE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04271/9185757-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="224" height="225"></div><h2><b>Rivals stronger together in bid</b></h2><p>The World Junior Championship makes for strange bedfellows. London and Windsor, long bitter rivals in the OHL, will make a joint bid for the 2012 tournament. The Knights-Spitfires rivalry is paralleled by the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, who have also partnered up to get the WJC. In the London-Windsor bid, the 9,000-seat John Labatt Centre in London would house all Canadian and medal round games. Windsor will open its $65-million, 6,500-seat WFCU Centre in December. &ldquo;There were initial discussions about partnering with Detroit (and Joe Louis Arena), but we think this is going to be a great fit with London,&rdquo; said Windsor mayor Eddie Francis. Toronto, Halifax, Saskatoon and Winnipeg are also in the bidding for 2012.</p><p><b>&ndash; JIM CRESSMAN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05236/9185750-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="229" height="229"></div><h2><b>Crowds flock to see Remparts</b></h2><p>The Quebec Remparts made inroads in a big-city market and it&rsquo;s something coach-GM and part-owner Patrick Roy is proud of. &ldquo;When I arrived with the team (in 2003), we had close to 800 season tickets,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now, we&rsquo;re close to 6,500. The fact we won the 2006 Memorial Cup and remained competitive after certainly brought a lot of excitement for our fans.&rdquo; Quebec leads the QMJHL in attendance, averaging 10,691 fans at the 15,399-seat Colisee Pepsi. The league average is 3,499. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re very involved in the community,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;Our players are really respectful to our fans and they&rsquo;re not shy to be part of activities with them. A lot of youth hockey teams come to see us play and we try to be involved with them.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; NEIL HODGE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06213/9185743-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="227" height="229"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0042-01

MATURITY KEY TO ALIU’S FUTURE

<p>THERE ARE TIMES when Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin has to rein in sophomore goalie Alex Stalock.</p><p>Known for his athletic aggressiveness around the crease, as well as a knack for chirping at opposing players who perch near his door-step, Stalock sometimes pushes the envelope too far.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a competitive kid, you know,&rdquo; Sandelin said. &ldquo;You can only take so many bumps.&rdquo;</p><p>But for huge chunks of the season, Stalock has been a model of consistency, effectiveness and level-headedness. He&rsquo;s one of the main reasons why the Bulldogs hit the stretch run above .500 and battling for a berth in the upper division of the WCHA.</p><p>In short, Stalock is playing a lot like he did in 2005-06, when he was named goaltender of the year in the United States League.</p><p>&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s matured a lot,&rdquo; Sandelin said.</p><p>In a league loaded with excellent stoppers, Stalock was 11-9-6 with a 2.13 goals against average and .922 save percentage.</p><p>Those numbers are a vast improvement from the 2006-07 season, when Stalock &ndash; chosen by San Jose in the fourth round of the 2005 NHL draft &ndash; was 5-14-3 with a 3.34 goals against and .881 save percentage as a freshman.</p><p>While he was credited with four assists, a shutout and led all first-year goalies in a host of categories &ndash; including 22 starts and 560 saves &ndash; Stalock also set a single-game school record when he was whistled for three penalties.</p><p>Despite his volatility, Stalock proved he was no slouch. He impressed WCHA coaches and peers enough that he was named to the all-rookie team and was named Duluth&rsquo;s rookie of the year.</p><p>&ldquo;Having one year under your belt is huge,&rdquo; said Stalock, 20. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m playing the puck a lot more smartly and these (defensemen), I&rsquo;ve been with them for a year and we&rsquo;re working a lot better now.</p><p>&ldquo;For me also, there&rsquo;s the confidence factor.&rdquo;</p><p>Stalock has three shutouts this year and six other outings in which opponents scored just one goal.</p><p>But his hyperactive nature means his coach will need steely nerves.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-07174/9185865-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="765" height="1008"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a fine goal-tender,&rdquo; said Wisconsin bench boss Mike Eaves. &ldquo;As a coach of a goalie like that, you kind of get gray hairs because you&rsquo;re not sure how he&rsquo;s going to make saves or what way he&rsquo;s going to makes saves.</p><p>&ldquo;But he finds a way to make saves because of his athleticism.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; ANDY BAGGOT</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01697/9185858-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="149" height="150"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>ALEX STALOCK</b></h2><p>Minnesota-Duluth</p><p>Ht. 6-0</p><p>Wt. 185</p><p>Pos. G</p><p>Age 20</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-08140/9185851-1-eng-US/f0043-082.jpg" title="f0043-08" width="360" height="73"></div><h3><b>Draft Status</b></h3><p>Selected 112th overall by San Jose in 2005</p><p>AND COUNTING 9</p><p>Stalock has allowed one goal or fewer nine times this year</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02469/9185844-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="159" height="175"></div><h2><b>Trumpeting a teammate</b></h2><p>Michigan senior Chad Kolarik knows the end of his college career is coming soon and he still has a couple of goals. A speedy playmaker, Kolarik is fifth in the nation in scoring, has averaged 1.3 points a game and has never missed a contest in four seasons with the Wolverines. He wants to lead Michigan to a national title, but he&rsquo;d also like to see his linemate, senior Kevin Porter, win the Hobey Baker Award. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best player in the country,&rdquo; said Kolarik, a Phoenix seven-throunder in the 2004 NHL draft. &rdquo;If he wins it, hopefully he&rsquo;ll let me get a piece of it.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; PHILIP COLVIN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03388/9185837-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="229" height="229"></div><h2><b>Friars killer when short</b></h2><p>One of the primary reasons behind the Providence Friars&rsquo; surprising season has been their penalty killing. The swift-skating Friars led the conference by killing off 88.3 percent of their penalties and their nine shorthanded goals through 26 games left them tied for the nation&rsquo;s most. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been able to put pressure and generate some turnovers,&rdquo; said Providence coach Tim Army. &ldquo;If you can force loose pucks, you can get a breakaway or a 2-on-1.&rdquo; Six Friars have shorthanded goals, with Jon Rheault, Matt Taormina and Nick Mazzolini having two each.</p><p><b>&ndash; LARRY MAHONEY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04288/9185830-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="229" height="229"></div><h2><b>Life of Riley on right track</b></h2><p>When the Edmonton Oilers selected Riley Nash with the 21st pick in last summer&rsquo;s draft, critics moaned Nash was a long-term project. Less than a year later, the freshman center at Cornell is one of the Oilers&rsquo; top prospects. The 6-foot, 175-pound Nash entered the fi nal month of the regular season as the Big Red&rsquo;s leading scorer (21 points in 23 games), which included a team-high 10 goals. He has been incredibly effective on the power play (six goals) and has figured in on 36 percent of Cornell&rsquo;s scoring, making him one of the most efficient centers in the nation.</p><p><b>&ndash; TOM BOGGIE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05247/9185823-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="229" height="229"></div><h2><b>Coach slapped by own school</b></h2><p>North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol was given a two-game suspension by the school after he made an obscene gesture toward an official during a game Feb. 2 at Minnesota. In addition to issuing a public reprimand of Hakstol &ndash; who sat out a two-game series with Denver &ndash; commissioner Bruce McLeod &ldquo;endorsed the strong actions&rdquo; taken by the school. Hakstol &ndash; who has led the Fighting Sioux to three straight Frozen Fours &ndash; apologized to referee Don Adam when the suspension was handed down. &ldquo;Out of this, I will learn a good lesson,&rdquo; Hakstol said.</p><p><b>&ndash; ANDY BAGGOT</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06204/9185816-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="229" height="229"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0043-07

STALOCK MORE STABLE

<div class="byline">by Nicolas Chabot</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0045-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01513/9185990-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg"></div><p> Can&rsquo;t get enough numbers? Visit our online &lsquo;Stats&rsquo; section every day at <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01502/9185983-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="5261" height="3411"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01341/9185976-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="2229" height="1285"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0045-01

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-05100/9186042-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02213/9186049-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="155" height="155"></div><h2><b>CROSSWORD</b></h2><p>By Larry Humber</p><h3><b>ACROSS</b></h3><p>1 He&rsquo;s a goalie in Boston, pictured</p><p>8 The Hurricanes are celebrating their ___ anniversary in Carolina (excluding the lost season)</p><p>9 Nickname of Portland&rsquo;s American League team</p><p>10 Where the legendary Silver Seven played</p><p>11 Players&rsquo; representatives</p><p>12 Goalie whose number was retired by the Isles</p><p>14 A Vancouver team, but not on ice</p><p>17 Doug Wilson once captained this team</p><p>19 Calgary&rsquo;s Marcus ___</p><p>20 &lsquo;Busher&rsquo; was a Leaf great</p><p>21 Jochen ___ is a winger with Buffalo</p><p>22 He tends net in Tampa</p><h2><b>DOWN</b></h2><p>2 Sending the puck the length of the rink</p><p>3 Teams used to take ___ from city to city</p><p>4 Starts</p><p>5 The S in USA</p><p>6 The O in OHL</p><p>7 Dany Heatley&rsquo;s former team</p><p>11 Joe Sakic has captained this team since 1992</p><p>13 Kids still like to ___ hockey cards</p><p>15 Level</p><p>16 Andrei ___ is with Montreal</p><p>17 Overrun</p><p>18 Ties</p><p>Answers available in next issue</p><p>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION <b>ACROSS</b> 1. NEW JERSEY, 8. AMOUR, 9. CURRENT, 10. SKATES, 11. SPLITS, 12. DROVE, 14. ADAMS, 17. WOLVES, 19. TIGERS, 20. SIBERIA, 21. NERVE, 22. SEVENTEEN. <b>DOWN</b> 2. EQUIP, 3. JARVIS, 4. RINGS, 5. YANKED, 6. ROOT FOR, 7. PROSPECTS, 11. SKRASTINS, 13. RANGERS, 15. SERIES, 16. ALBERT, 17. WHITE, 18. EMILE.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01301/9186035-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="1531" height="750"></div><p>by Ryan Kennedy</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03157/9186028-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="155" height="155"></div><h2><b>HOMETOWN HOCKEY</b></h2><p>ST. JOHN&rsquo;S, NFLD.</p><p>Geography has not been kind to The Rock. The fact St. John&rsquo;s is on an island has made North America&rsquo;s most eastern city a tough place to keep a team, despite having a great arena in town. The St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs of the AHL made the biggest splash in the market, hosting future NHLers such as Brad Boyes and Alexei Ponikarovsky from 1991-2005. The farm team was then moved to Toronto to be closer to the parent club. After the Baby Leafs, the QMJHL came calling in the form of the Fog Devils, but they too will be moving after this season, to Verdun, Que.</p><h2><b>TIPS FROM THE POINT</b></h2><p>WITH THOMAS VANEK</p><p>Gaining and maintaining control of the puck is vital to any player&rsquo;s offensive arsenal, so I have a wooden ball about the size of a golf ball that I use to practise with. I just stickhandle with it as fast as I can, back and forth. When I get on the ice, the puck seems that much easier to handle.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04139/9186021-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="249" height="456"></div><p>BUFFALO SABRES</p><p><b>AGE:</b> 24</p><p>&nbsp;<b>POS:</b> LW</p><p><b>NUMBER:</b> 26<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-05

LAST MINUTE OF PLAY

<div class="image-hero"><img title="C0004-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-03121/9186080-1-eng-US/c0004-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Darryl Boyce <span class="photo-credit">(JUSTSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-02205/9186087-1-eng-US/c0004-022.jpg" title="C0004-02" width="207" height="246"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;This definitely wasn&rsquo;t my last game in the NHL&rdquo;</blockquote><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>OT MANY PLAYERS CAN remember every shift they skated in the NHL. Then again, not many players sustain a season-ending injury in their first big-league game.</p><p>Although Darryl Boyce&rsquo;s one and only NHL contest ended with a dislocated shoulder, the experience is etched permanently into his mind. Not only that, Boyce&rsquo;s first cup of coffee in the NHL has inspired him to take whatever steps necessary to ensure it wasn&rsquo;t a one-off.</p><p>&ldquo;This definitely wasn&rsquo;t my last game in the NHL,&rdquo; says the 23-year-old native of Summerside, P.E.I., who was skating with the University of New Brunswick a year ago.</p><p>Unlike a lot of ex-major junior players who don&rsquo;t make the immediate jump to pro hockey, Boyce never gave up the dream. After four years with the OHL&rsquo;s St. Michael&rsquo;s Majors, Boyce &ndash; who wasn&rsquo;t drafted by any NHL team &ndash; opted to play Canadian university hockey. While with the Majors, he attended NHL rookie camps with Columbus in 2003 and Carolina in 2005. It was at his second camp with the Canes when the Maple Leafs first expressed an interest in Boyce.</p><p>&ldquo;We were playing in a rookie tournament in Ottawa and the Hurricanes told me earlier in the day they were releasing me,&rdquo; Boyce says. &ldquo;That night I went out and scored two goals against Montreal and after the game, the Leafs offered me a minor league AHL/ECHL contract.&rdquo;</p><p>Boyce says he was tempted to sign, but felt his UNB team had a shot at winning the Canadian university title (it did). And, he thought he had a chance of playing for Team Canada at the World University Games (he did, and Canada won gold). The pro game could wait a bit.</p><p>&ldquo;I knew I wanted to be an NHL player, but I also knew if I was going to make that dream come true, I was going to have to do it differently than everybody else because I was not a typical go-to-junior, get-drafted, play-in-the-American-League, then-go-to-the-NHL type of player,&rdquo; Boyce says. &ldquo;I guess I am what you call a late bloomer. I never really wowed people with my play.&rdquo;</p><p>Boyce scored 54 goals and 145 points with 425 penalty minutes in 262 OHL games with St. Mike&rsquo;s. He continued to develop with the AHL&rsquo;s Marlies this season, scoring eight goals and 24 points with 71 PIM in 41 games as a rookie pro.</p><p>While watching the Leafs play the first of back-to-back games against Washington on TV in late January, he saw Toronto winger Alexei Ponikarovsky go down and immediately wondered if he might get the call.</p><p>&ldquo;I grabbed my cell phone, just in case,&rdquo; Boyce says. &ldquo;Sure enough, within 20 minutes I was called and told to come to the airport and that I&rsquo;d definitely be in the lineup the next day.&rdquo;</p><p>He joined the Leafs in Washington and, feeling quite nervous, took his place between defenseman Ian White and center Dominic Moore in the dressing room.</p><p>&ldquo;I remember walking into the room and seeing guys that I grew up idolizing,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You have to snap out of it pretty quick, though. You have your moment to realize this is your dream come true, but then you have to prove yourself. You are up for a reason and you have to prove it wasn&rsquo;t a fluke.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed, Boyce recalls just about every detail of his first big night:</p><p>First shift: &ldquo;I think it lasted about five seconds. I jumped on and Washington iced the puck so we switched lines.&rdquo;</p><p>Second shift: &ldquo;We had a turnover at our blueline and the Capitals kept it in our zone for a little bit. I ran into Donald Brashear and my parents said to me, &lsquo;That was quite the big guy you had to hit.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Third shift: &ldquo;I won an offensive-zone faceoff against Boyd Gordon. We were caught in our zone for quite a while, but we didn&rsquo;t give up a good scoring chance.&rdquo;</p><p>Fourth shift: &ldquo;I won a defensive-zone faceoff against David Steckel. If a coach can trust you and he&rsquo;s confident you&rsquo;ll win a faceoff, it&rsquo;s huge.&rdquo;</p><p>Fifth shift: &ldquo;I came off the bench and (Tom) Poti was skating up ice along the far wall. I was skating as fast as I could and I went to hit him. The back of his ankle caught my skate and I went flying into the boards &ndash; full speed. At first I thought it might just be a sore shoulder, but when I went to move it &ndash; nothing. I couldn&rsquo;t lift it.&rdquo;</p><p>But Boyce says he&rsquo;s not just sitting around feeling sorry for himself.</p><p>&ldquo;I can either treat this as, &lsquo;Man, it is crappy being out,&rsquo; or I can look at my situation and understand I have eight months until training camp and I can use this time to have an advantage over other people,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to earn my spot and make the team. My attitude is positive.&rdquo;</p><p>For Mike&rsquo;s web-exclusive Double OT column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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March 4, 2008

SHOOTOUT MADNESS

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