THESE GUYS CAME TO PLAY
Who are the NHL’s money players heading down the stretch? These are the top performers for the two weeks ending 3/20
Eastern Conference
LW Gary Roberts, Carolina, 6 GP, 5 G, 3 A, 8P
C Ron Francis, Carolina, 6 GP, 2G, 7A, 9P
C Yannick Perrault, Toronto, 6GP, 5G, 4A, 9P
RW Steve Thomas, Toronto, 8GP, 6G, 4A, 1P
D Sean Hill, Carolina, 6GP, 6A, 6P, +3
D Wade Redden, Ottawa, 6GP, 1G, 4A, 5P, +6
G Curtis Joseph, Toronto, 4GP, 3-1, 1.75GAA, 1SO, 7G/115S
Western Conference
LW Markus Naslund, Vancouver, 8GP, 4G, 4A, 8P
C Joe Sakic, Colorado, 7GP, 10G, 6A, 16P
RW Tony Amonte, Chicago, 8GP, 8G, 4A, 12P
D Niklas Lidstrom, Detroit, 7GP, 2G, 9A, 11P, +4
D Boris Mironov, Chicago, 7GP, 4G, 4A, 8P, +11
G Patrick Roy, Colorado, 7GP, 6-1, 1.58 GAA, 1SO, 11G/133S
TI CHICKEN
CAROLINA HURRICANES — The ‘Canes added brawn for their playoff run by acquiring Philadelphia tough-guy LW Sandy McCarthy for C Kent Manderville.
It was McCarthy, you’ll remember, who turned Ti Domi, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ noted cementhead, into a pantywaist last year. Since demeaning McCarthy’s heritage, Domi has repeatedly refused McCarthy’s invitation to go, despite McCarthy taunting him with the “Chicken Dance” every time the two meet on ice.
Domi hit bottom this year when, during a home game, he used a linesman to screen off McCarthy then kicked Flyers D Adam Burt, was already wrestling around with another Leaf.
In his first game with the ‘Canes, McCarthy ran Edmonton G Tommy Salo twice and traded lumps with RW Georges Laraque.
YOU GO, COMRADE!
NEW JERSEY DEVILS — The popular wisdom is that Alexander Mogilny will give the Devils all the offense they need to power through the playoffs. If confidence counts, fans in North Jersey can start making parade plans.
“I’m going to take it all the way through, beat three or four guys, and score,” Mogilny told reporters upon joining the Devils. Uh-huh.
In his first game with the Devils, Mogilny, skating with Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Scott Gomez, had chances throughout the game, but Dallas G Manny Fernandez had the answer. Then, with Jersey skating 6-on-4 with one second left in the game, Mogilny took the last chance — a back-hand high to the far-side — a pretty-enough shot that went wide. Dallas wins, 3-2. Mogilny also took the collar in his second game with the Devils, a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
C HERE
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Lightning C Vincent LeCavalier will not turn 20 until next month, but the second-year pro from Ile Blizzard, Quebec, has grown up in a hurry. LeCavalier was named Captain of the Bolts last week, replacing C Chris Gratton, who was traded to Buffalo. In 69 games this year, LeCavalier has posted 57P (21G/36A). Gratton, who is becoming something of a journeyman (three teams in two years) scored 41P (14G/27A) in 58 games at Tampa, and had a goal and three assists in his first game with Buffalo.
