PITTSBURGH (AP) - Mario Lemieux injured his hip and left the game after one period Saturday against the Boston Bruins.
There was no indication if the star forward would be able to play in Toronto on Tuesday.
Lemieux hasn't missed a game since Pittsburgh's final game last season. The Penguins' captain missed 54 games two seasons ago with hip problems that forced arthroscopic surgery in October, 2001, but the condition plagued him the rest of the season.
Lemieux has one goal and nine points in 10 games. He had points in eight consecutive games entering Saturday.
____________________________________________ UUUUUUIIIIIIII -------------------------------------------- Forum am 07.08.2002 Bei den Frankfurt Lions soll es in der nächsten Saison der Deutschen Eishockeyliga (DEL) wieder aufwärts gehen. \\\\\\\"Wir wollen endlich wieder mal einen Playoff-Platz erobern und unter die besten acht Teams kommen\\\\\\\", sagte Clubeigner Gerd Schröder.
ESPN.com news services Mario Lemieux is a long shot to play in Toronto on Tuesday, and missing a few other games isn't out of the question, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in Monday's editions.
Lemieux strained a muscle in his left hip and left the game after one period Saturday in the Penguins' 3-2 overtime victory against the Boston Bruins.
He was withheld from the final two periods as a precaution, the team said during the game.
Lemieux hasn't missed a game since Pittsburgh's final game last season. The Penguins' captain missed 54 games two seasons ago with hip problems that forced arthroscopic surgery in October but plagued him the rest of the season.
"We'll wait until we see him [Monday] and get his thoughts," coach Eddie Olcyzk told the Post-Gazette. "We'll do whatever Mario and the [medical] staff thinks is the right thing."
Olczyk told the newspaper that Lemieux's hip had been bothering him for more than a week -- "I could just tell by the way he was flexing his leg and stuff" -- but that Lemieux declined to make an issue of it.
"That's the type of guy he is, the type of leadership our players see," Olczyk told the paper.
Lemieux missed 54 games in 2001-02 with a right hip problem. he has one goal and nine points in 10 games. He had points in eight consecutive games entering Saturday.leading nine points
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
____________________________________________
UUUUUUIIIIIIII -------------------------------------------- Forum am 07.08.2002 Bei den Frankfurt Lions soll es in der nächsten Saison der Deutschen Eishockeyliga (DEL) wieder aufwärts gehen. \\\\\\\"Wir wollen endlich wieder mal einen Playoff-Platz erobern und unter die besten acht Teams kommen\\\\\\\", sagte Clubeigner Gerd Schröder.
Ilya Kovalchuk, who managed to overcome the Atlanta Thrashers off-season tragedy and post a career best start in the NHL this season, has been honoured as the NHL Offensive Player of the Month for October.
The Thrashers forward led all goalscorers with 11 goals and 17 points last month, helping the team to its best start in franchise history. This despite the fact the team was dealing with the loss of forward Dan Snyder, who was killed in a car crash.
Kovalchuk notched at least one point in 10 of 11 games, posted a plus or even rating in nine of 11 contests and was on the ice for 20 of the Thrashers’ 29 goals. Kovalchuk averaged 25:00 of ice time per game, an increase of 5:33 over last season’s career-high 19:27, and led the NHL in shots with 61. He equaled a career high with a four-game goal streak from Oct. 18-25, including two hat tricks, and concluded the month with a career-best seven-game point streak from Oct. 18-31.
Colorado Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg was also considered for the monthly honour.
____________________________________________
UUUUUUIIIIIIII -------------------------------------------- Forum am 07.08.2002 Bei den Frankfurt Lions soll es in der nächsten Saison der Deutschen Eishockeyliga (DEL) wieder aufwärts gehen. \\\\\\\"Wir wollen endlich wieder mal einen Playoff-Platz erobern und unter die besten acht Teams kommen\\\\\\\", sagte Clubeigner Gerd Schröder.
TORONTO (CP) - Pat LaFontaine beamed a smile when he grasped the irony of it all.
He played midget hockey in Detroit the year Mike Ilitch bought the Red Wings, he played for the New York Islanders when Brian Kilrea was an assistant coach, he and Grant Fuhr were Buffalo Sabres teammates, and fate weaved those connections all the way to the Hockey Hall of Fame when the four were inducted together Monday.
``To be here with these three guys, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world,'' LaFontaine said during interviews after the four received their rings and blazers.
LaFontaine, who helped the United States win the World Cup tournament in 1996, was a crafty centre who scored 468 goals and amassed 1,013 points in an NHL career began in 1984 with the New York Islanders and was cut short in 1998 by concussions. He is not bitter it ended too soon.
``Guys who have gone through post-concussion syndrome will tell you it changes your perspective on life,'' LaFontaine explained. ``You don't have as much control as you think you do.
``You reflect and you learn to appreciate the little things . . . and truly embrace what you have.''
LaFontaine, 38, is so positive about life that he could inspire a telephone pole.
He left his St. Louis home to play midget hockey in Detroit for Compuware in 1982 when Ilitch was funding a rival minor hockey organization through his Little Caesar's Pizza empire.
Ilitch then bought the Red Wings, a terrible team with only 2,100 season ticket holders, for $8 million US and turned it into a three-time NHL champion.
``I sometimes wonder how it all happened,'' Ilitch, 74, said of the Hockeytown culture. ``But we brought in colourful players and the fans related to them immediately.
``Our players and the blue-collar people in our community could communicate very easily and it didn't have to be verbal. It was the players we had, that was part of it, and we had good marketing people'' who came up with the Hockeytown tag.
LaFontaine went to Verdun and overtook Mario Lemieux to win the Quebec junior scoring title in 1983. He was named Canadian junior player of the year - a rare feat for an American.
Kilrea, who during a brief NHL fling as a player scored the first goal in Los Angeles Kings history, was well aware of LaFontaine's scoring exploits because he was coaching the Ottawa major junior club at the time.
Ilitch's Red Wings, drafting fourth in 1983, were going to select LaFontaine. But the Islanders, drafting third, took him. Detroit then took Steve Yzerman.
Kilrea joined the Islanders as an assistant coach when LaFontaine was breaking into the NHL. Kilrea was being groomed to take over the top job upon Al Arbour's retirement but it didn't work out because the higher-ups decided Kilrea was too close to the players.
Besides, Kilrea preferred living in Ottawa and developing players at the junior level so after two years on Long Island he returned to the 67s. He has since passed the 1,000-win mark, which was enough to get the highly-respected coach into the Hall's builders' category with Ilitch.
``I feel like I'm representing a lot of amateur coaches who prepare players for the NHL,'' said Kilrea, 69. ``I'm here mainly because of the players who played for me. If it weren't for their efforts, Brian Kilrea isn't here.''
LaFontaine and Fuhr were Sabres teammates from 1993 to 1995.
``Patty and I became good friends when we played together in Buffalo,'' said Fuhr. ``It's special to go into the Hockey Hall of Fame but to go in with a friend is extra special.''
Fuhr earned five Stanley Cup rings stopping pucks for the Edmonton Oilers. He had a great glove hand, and supplied the big-moment saves that enabled teammates to spend most of their time in the opposition's end.
He's the first black player to be inducted but downplays the fact in deference to Willie O'Ree, who in 1957 was the first black player in the NHL and who now is involved in the league's minorities programs.
``It's a special honour but it's not something I ever really grew up with,'' explained Fuhr, 41. ``I mean, having got to know Willie and all the things Willie went through, by the time I got to play all the doors had been opened.
``I was just another player by the time I got there.''
Like LaFontaine, he was much more than ``just another player'' by the time he left.
____________________________________________
UUUUUUIIIIIIII -------------------------------------------- Forum am 07.08.2002 Bei den Frankfurt Lions soll es in der nächsten Saison der Deutschen Eishockeyliga (DEL) wieder aufwärts gehen. \\\\\\\"Wir wollen endlich wieder mal einen Playoff-Platz erobern und unter die besten acht Teams kommen\\\\\\\", sagte Clubeigner Gerd Schröder.
Even in his heyday with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s, Mark Messier never imagined that one day he would catch up to Gordie Howe in career NHL points.
But the 42-year-old is just a point behind Mr. Hockey, who is the second leading scorer in NHL history with 1,850 points in 26 seasons.
Messier's former Edmonton teammate Wayne Gretzky holds the record with 2,857 points.
``When Wayne broke it, everybody expected it to happen, but I never expected to play this many years or this many games to have an opportunity to get close to Gordie Howe,'' Messier said recently.
``And it's not something I put a lot of emphasis on. It just kind of snuck up on myself and everybody else. I never put the emphasis on goal-scoring. I put the emphasis on winning.''
Messier could tie or pass Howe in front of a home crowd on Tuesday when the Rangers host the Dallas Stars.
In an NHL career that began in Edmonton in 1979 and later took him to the Rangers, Vancouver and back to the Rangers in 2000, Messier has amassed 680 goals and 1,169 assists for 1,849 points.
His assists total ties him with former Boston and Colorado defenceman Raymond Bourque for third all-time behind Gretzky, who retired with 1,963 assists, and Carolina's Ron Francis, who has 1,223 and counting.
The Edmonton native, now in his 25th season, chalks it up to his Howe-like longevity.
``I don't think anybody felt those numbers were achievable,'' Messier said. ``It was a large number of years and games played.
``But I've been able to play in an era in which a lot of players have played for a long time, like Ron Francis, Steve Yzerman or Chris Chelios. When we look back at it later, I think it will be considered one of the best eras of the game because of what players have been able to achieve late in their careers.''
The six-time Stanley Cup winner - five with the Oilers and one in 1994 with the Rangers - does not score at the pace he did when he was the NHL's most menacing centre.
In 1989-90, he was named the league's most valuable player after a career year of 129 points, including 45 goals, while leading the Edmonton dynasty to its fifth Cup in seven years.
Last season, he had 40 points in 78 games.
But goals are tougher to come by for all NHL players these days. The run-and-gun Oiler hockey of the 1980s has given way to traps, locks and oversized goaltender's pads.
``There's really nothing else to blame but that the goaltenders are better, the systems are better, the teams are better coached and there's more parity in the league,'' said Messier. ``To score now, you need a good shot, be on the power play or have someone make a good individual effort.''
Being a teammate of Messier's is a thrill for 22-year-old Rangers' centre Jamie Lundmark, who grew up an Oilers fan in Edmonton, although his favourite player as a boy was Jari Kurri.
``After watching him in Edmonton, it's great to get a chance to play with him and be around him off the ice, too,'' said Lundmark. ``He's a great person.
``I just keep learning from him.''
Messier said he and his son Lyon met with Gordie Howe and his son Mark during an exhibition game in Detroit this season. Howe was well aware that he was about to be passed again. At the start of the season, Messier was six points behind Howe.
And like Howe before him, Messier is still playing in the NHL at a time when many of his ex-teammates are in old-timers' games.
Messier said he'd like to see his former Oilers colleagues at their outdoor game Nov. 22 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton against the Canadiens old-timers, just before the NHL Oilers and Habs play a historic outdoor regular season game.
``I've been trying to get down there but the schedule's tough,'' said Messier, who has a game Nov. 23 against Ottawa. ``But I don't want to miss that.
``Any time you put on a spectacle like that, it brings a lot of attention to the team, the city and the game. It's well-deserved. Edmonton has always been an excellent franchise that has produced a lot of great players and great moments for the game of hockey.
``And having Montreal go there is an excellent choice because of the history of that club.''
____________________________________________
UUUUUUIIIIIIII -------------------------------------------- Forum am 07.08.2002 Bei den Frankfurt Lions soll es in der nächsten Saison der Deutschen Eishockeyliga (DEL) wieder aufwärts gehen. \\\\\\\"Wir wollen endlich wieder mal einen Playoff-Platz erobern und unter die besten acht Teams kommen\\\\\\\", sagte Clubeigner Gerd Schröder.
The Detroit Red Wings will be without forward Henrik Zetterberg for an indefinite period after suffering a broken bone in his leg in Monday night's game against the Vancouver Canucks.
According to Red Wings coach Dave Lewis, Zetterberg will be out for the next four to six weeks after being slashed by Canucks defenceman Bryan Allen in the third period of last night's game.
Zetterberg has two goals and seven points in 12 games with the Red Wings this season.
VARIOUS SOURCES REPORT THE DETROIT RED WINGS HAVE SIGNED UFA CENTER STEVE THOMAS TO A ONE-YEAR, $1 MILLION CONTRACT.
Spector's Note: My thanks to all of you who sent this in. This move obviously fills a gap in the short-term left by the injured Henrik Zetterberg. It remains to be seen if the Wings, who were interested in bringing in another scoring centre before Zetterberg got hurt and they signed Thomas, will still be on the hunt for another centre.
Witzigerweise.... oder nein, witzig ist das eigentlich nicht, aber Bryan Allen war auch bei Hatchers Verletzung beteiligt, wenn dort auch unabsichtlich. D.h. Mr. Allen hatte bei den längerfristigen Verletzungen von 2 Key-Players der Wings seine Finger mit im Spiel. Das er jetzt überhauptnoch geradeaus laufen kann, zeigt, wie weich Hockey geworden ist...
2 Spiele, pfffff...
He scored a goal, added two assists and got the nod in a fight: a Gordie Howe hat trick
DETROIT (AP) -- Red Wings defenseman Derian Hatcher had right knee ligament surgery Thursday and is expected to be sidelined four to six months.
Hatcher was hurt when he got tangled up with Vancouver's Markus Naslund and Bryan Allen in a game Oct. 16.
The Red Wings hope he will be able to return in time for the playoffs, which begin in April.
Hatcher was the runner-up in voting last season for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL's top defenseman.
He signed a five-year, $30 million contract with his hometown team in July after playing the first 12 seasons of his NHL career in the Dallas Stars' organization.
Méschda Hoschbess holy
-->
Brawls. Blood. Mayhem. Philly style. You want it - we got it!
"We drink all their beer, win the game, beat them up and no one go to jail. Good times, eh?"
PITTSBURGH (AP) - While others his age are pledging a fraternity or choosing a major, this No. 1 draft pick is already being talked about as a front-runner for the rookie of the year award.
Uncommonly polished, poised and professional for an 18-year-old, he doesn't seem burdened by the heavy responsibilities he's shouldering. Not only is he launching a pro career long the talk of his hometown, he's trying to revive a moribund franchise with sagging attendance in a Rust Belt town.
LeBron James, he's not.
Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the other No. 1 pick, is playing every bit as well in the NHL as top pick James is with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.
The difference is Fleury is doing it without the coast-to-coast U.S. media entourage, the aura of anticipation that accompanies every James game, or the $90 million-plus in endorsements that have already made James a very rich man - or, actually, a very rich kid.
Fleury's endorsement deals to date? Zero, but his agent is talking to hockey equipment manufacturers about possible commercial tie-ins. But don't look for a Nike Ice Fleury model anytime soon.
If Fleury is jealous of his fellow No. 1's vast wealth and endless attention, he doesn't show it. To him, every day in the NHL is a gift, something to be cherished and savoured and remembered, not wasted wishing he was a star in another sport.
``I don't really mind. I know basketball is big in the United States,'' said Fleury, yet another in a long line of Quebec-raised goalies that includes Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. ``I'm playing hockey instead of basketball. It's totally different stuff.''
Not really. Fleury's debut has been just as good as James' in the NBA, it's just that not nearly as many have noticed. While three of James' first four games were televised on ESPN or TNT in the U.S., not one of Fleury's eight starts was shown outside the participating markets.
Too bad, because those that haven't seen him have missed quite a show.
Fleury has been at least the No. 3 star in every game he's played, despite facing a league-high average of 35 shots per night. He has been among the top five starting goalies in save percentage all season, and was first until a 4-2 loss Tuesday in Toronto. He already has his first shutout, beating Chicago 1-0 on Oct. 30, a performance that helped make him the NHL rookie of the month in October.
What amazes Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux, himself an NHL star while still a teen, is that Fleury is 3½ years younger than the next-youngest NHL goalie, the Islanders' Rick DiPietro.
How young is Fleury? He wasn't born when Lemieux made his NHL debut in October 1984.
``What he's doing now is more impressive than what I did my first year, especially with the way the game is being played now,'' Lemieux said. ``Players are a lot bigger and stronger and shoot the puck a lot better.
``For him to do what he's doing now is incredible. He's been one of the best goaltenders in the league so far.''
Just as impressed was Brodeur, widely considered to be hockey's best goalie. Brodeur was in the opposing net when the Devils beat the Penguins 2-1 on Oct. 24, scoring against Fleury only on two shots that deflected off skates.
Fleury hasn't had the immediate effect on Pittsburgh's attendance that James has had on Cleveland's, with the rebuilding Penguins' last four home games all drawing less than 12,000. But Brodeur noticed that those who turn out are loudly chanting ``Fleur-ry, Fleur-ry'' with every big save.
``It's rare to see a young guy who's in control like he is,'' Brodeur said. ``He's the future. He's real impressive.''
What the Penguins now must decide - even if the decision seemingly couldn't be easier - is whether to keep Fleury.
If he plays only three more games, his $3.72-million, three-year contract will kick in. The Penguins' only alternative is to send him back to the Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League next week, a move that would delay his contract from starting until next year but would deprive them of their best player so far.
Keeping Fleury will likely cost them about $3 million in easily reachable incentives - not exactly LeBron James money, but a healthy expenditure for a money-losing team.
``Even when I made the team, I thought I might sit and watch,'' said Fleury, who is expected to make his fifth straight start Friday night at Florida. ``I'm just happy I'm playing. Every game is a chance for me to play in the NHL and, for sure, I wasn't expecting that.''
____________________________________________
UUUUUUIIIIIIII -------------------------------------------- Forum am 07.08.2002 Bei den Frankfurt Lions soll es in der nächsten Saison der Deutschen Eishockeyliga (DEL) wieder aufwärts gehen. \\\\\\\"Wir wollen endlich wieder mal einen Playoff-Platz erobern und unter die besten acht Teams kommen\\\\\\\", sagte Clubeigner Gerd Schröder.
General Manager Bob Pulford announced today that the Blackhawks have recalled forward Igor Korolev from the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League.
In 10 games with the Admirals this season, Korolev had one goal and four assists for five points with four penalty minutes. In 733 career NHL games, he has 116 goals and 217 assists for 333 points with 308 penalty minutes. In 41 career playoff games, Koroloev has eight assists.
Korolev was acquired by the Blackhawks from the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 23, 2001, in exchange for a third round pick in the 2001 entry draft
____________________________________________
UUUUUUIIIIIIII -------------------------------------------- Forum am 07.08.2002 Bei den Frankfurt Lions soll es in der nächsten Saison der Deutschen Eishockeyliga (DEL) wieder aufwärts gehen. \\\\\\\"Wir wollen endlich wieder mal einen Playoff-Platz erobern und unter die besten acht Teams kommen\\\\\\\", sagte Clubeigner Gerd Schröder.
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Kings have assigned defenseman Martin Strbak to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, Kings Senior Vice President/General Manager Dave Taylor announced Thursday.
Strbak, 29, has appeared in five games for the Kings this season recording two goals (2-0=2) and eight penalty minutes. The 6-3, 210-pound native of Presov, Slovakia, made his NHL debut this season on October 10 at Pittsburgh versus the Penguins.
Originally selected by the Kings in the ninth round (244th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Strbak recorded his first NHL point with a goal on October 21 versus the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Kings continue their four-game road trip tonight in Tampa Bay versus the Lightning at 4 p.m. (PT).
____________________________________________
UUUUUUIIIIIIII -------------------------------------------- Forum am 07.08.2002 Bei den Frankfurt Lions soll es in der nächsten Saison der Deutschen Eishockeyliga (DEL) wieder aufwärts gehen. \\\\\\\"Wir wollen endlich wieder mal einen Playoff-Platz erobern und unter die besten acht Teams kommen\\\\\\\", sagte Clubeigner Gerd Schröder.
Sie sind vermutlich noch nicht im Forum angemeldet - Klicken Sie hier um sich kostenlos anzumelden
Offline
a Gordie Howe hat trick 
