Drug Probe Ordered as Rangers Stop Islanders

Allegations of doping flew last night after the giant-killing Rangers did it just like they did to Carolina a few weeks ago. Young defenceman Jonahtan Girard had the game of his life in scoring the winner and assisting on the other two goals enroute to a thrilling 3-1 victory over the Islanders juggernaut but controversy exploded after the game.

The league announced it would be commissioning a probe into GM Burns' distrubution of his league sanctioned anti-depressants to his team. The probe would also investigate the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The well documented emotional breakdown of GM Burns during a Leaf game last year spurred the league to get him counselling and medication. About the time he began taking them his team went on a tear and is racing up the standings. The league has been concerned over the ever increasing prescriptions it is filling and is now convinced that it has reached inhuman proportions and, therefore, something is suspicious.

"I don't know what you're talking about," a clearly giddy Thilbault said after the game. The goalie didn't look remotely tired after stopping 36 of 37 shots for the win. "Why's everybody so tense? Can't we all just let things be what they are, man, and get along?"

"You're hillarious!" chuckled Jonathan Girard as he jogged by. "Can't talk my friends! I'm going to buy some candy!"

The team seemed unusually high over the win as reporters entered the dressing room after the game. When told he had had a great game by a reporter team captain JP Dumont said "Thanks man!" elatedly and embraced the reporter for an uncomfortably long period of time. "It's just so, y'know, FANTASTIC to be appreciated," he said while choking back tears.

"This is so typical of the world," said GM Burns. "Here we are a bunch of guys having a good time and someone has to try and ruin the party. I mean look at Coach Neilson juggle for godsakes! He's great! And I bet you didn't know Bure could turn his eye lids inside out like that. These guys are just jokers. You're jokers! Ya hear me!" he said and wandered away.

Junior Capitals Stunned by Stars

The Washington Junior Capitals were run off the ice by the Dallas Junior Stars in a penalty-filled affair on Day 70. Dallas came away with a 5-1 victory that dropped Washington to 14-18-3 for the season.

Neither team scored in the first period, but there were two fights to excite the crowd. In the first, Greg Mauldin fought to a draw with Dallas' Barinka, and in the second Patrick O'Sullivan duked it out with the Stars' Blazek.

Dallas opened the scoring early in the second period when Vlcek netted from Stafford and Chernov after just 23 seconds. Branko Radivojevic tried to get the momentum back on Washington's side by fighting Barinka, but it didn't work. Blazek scored for the Stars at 5:01 to make it 2-0, and Peter extended the lead to three goals when he lit the lamp from Blazek and Joseph at 9:59. The Capitals finally got a goal when Lance Moynch scored from O'Sullivan and Sean Bergenheim at 13:03.

Dallas continued to dominate in the final period, and Bateman made it 4-1 when he scored from Taticek and Blazek at 10:58. Volrab completed the scoring for the Stars with an unassisted goal on the power play at 16:08.

Daniel Taylor made 27 saves in the loss for Washington. Brad Topping made one stop in relief. Jason Bacashihua made 26 saves to earn the win for Dallas.

The Junior Capitals return to action on Day 72 against San Jose.

CANES DEFEAT SENS IN CONFERENCE MATCHUP

Carolina

With a needed win to help keep up with conference and league leading New York, the Hurricanes took on the Ottawa Senators at home.

"This ended up being a huge test for our penalty killing," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "What is unbelievable to me is that these guys just keep taking dummy penalty after dummy penalty. It is amazing that we came out of this game with the win."

The Canes surrendered 9 power plays to the Ottawa Senators and luckily, only allowed one goals. On the other hand, Ottawa only gave the Canes one power play and Mike Fisher made them pay with his 14th of the season.

"It was a pretty big game for Jose Theodore," said captain Shane Doan, who ended the game with a game high 2 points. "He kept us in this game while we were short handed for much of it. He is the guy we look to when we need a win. He is the franchise."

Carolina rookie Michael Woodford, who was given duty on the second line with Kyle Wellwood and Jeff Friesen, tallied his first goal of his career.

"It was pretty exciting to get an opportunity to play tonight," said the young right winger. "I think overall we played well together and I hope I will get more ice time after this."

Carolina is in Los Angeles tonight.

KIRK MCLEOD ASSESSED AND FOUND TO BE OKAY FOR LONG PATH OF FULL RECOVERY

Carolina

With so much doubt in the future of young center Kirk McLeod, a ray of light was put upon the Carolina Hurricane. Kirk McLeod, who received a sickening injury during a crash into the boards, was diagnosed with three fractures, all of which will not be career threatening.

"It has been a tiring process," said McLeod. "Not just for me, but my family and friends as well."

The Hurricanes have flown in the family to be by the side of their family member. McLeod, 24, has shown much appreciation for everyone who has sent letters of encouragement and messages of love.

"It is really hard to wake up in the morning and not feel something ofr everyone who has been behind me. Injuries are a part of the game but this is easily the worst thing I have ever had happen to me physically. I can still picture looking down at my arm and not being able to feel anything. It was a terrifying moment to say the least."

The crash occurred when McLeod tried to beat out an icing and lost an edge. The youngster ended up sliding at full speed towards the boards and extended his right arm to cushion the blow. Unfortunately, his arm could not withstand the impact and folded in three places.

"Luckily, it could have been worse. I can at least move forward now and try and put back together my career."

Derek MacKenzie sings The Clash

After getting his ass handed to him in a fight during the Bruins-Thrashers game, Derek MacKenize was overhead in the trainers room, singing... Obviously, it was not a good night for MacKenzie.

That nightlight seems as bright as the sun
I fought Guerin and Guerin won
I fought Guerin and Guerin won
I needed some cred 'cause I had none
I fought Guerin and Guerin won
I fought Guerin and Guerin won

Now I'm on my ass and it feels so bad
Guess my night is done
It was the shortest fight that I ever had
I fought Guerin and Guerin won
I fought Guerin and Guerin won

Got knocked out cold when he swung
I fought Guerin and Guerin won
I fought Guerin and Guerin won
We lost the game, no surprise to some
I fought Guerin and Guerin won
I fought Guerin and Guerin won

Now I'm on my ass and it feels so bad
Guess my night is done
It was the shortest fight that I ever had
I fought Guerin and Guerin won
I fought Guerin and Guerin won

Quints are wild....

In the five hundred fifty-fifth game of Season Five of CLUTCH... hey, anything can happen, right?

The Minnesota Wild welcomed the Boston Bruins last night to test that theory, and Bill Guerin and Zdenek Kutlak did their best to prove it.

Both men just apparently decided to take their frustrations out on the Wild, racking up multiple penalties, and extended visits to the penalty box.

To open the game, though, Jochan Hecht scored his team-leading seventeenth goal of the season off passes from Fran Kaberle and Andy McDonald at 10:29. Four minutes later, Kutlak went primal on a fan in the first row, earning himself an unsportsmanlike-conduct minor and misconduct.

Both sides settled down, and while the Wild outshot the Bruins twelve-to-six, they were unable to strike the back of the net.

The second period provided further proof that the Bruins can be handled by elite players. Much like Mario Lemieux did single-handedly nearly a week ago, Vinny LeCavalier netted two goals in the period - the only two goals of the period - thirteen minutes apart to take the lead the Wild would never relinquish.

However, Bill Guerin would endear himself to the doormaster of the penalty box during the period, earning minor stints for cross-checking and unsportsmanlike conduct. Kutlak earned a double minor for a highsticking call, and two minutes later Tomas Kopecky was lost on a no-call grab, tug, and noogie from LeCavalier.

The third period was icing on the cake, as Tomas Plekanec scored his twelfth of the year with less than two minutes to play.

All in all, after being called only once for a penalty against Atlanta, the Bruins were sat six times Thursday. The Wild went oh-fer on the four power play opportunities, but the point was there to be had, and the Bruins missed out on it. Thankfully, the Toronto hockey club also came up short last night, so no ground was lost - just an opportunity.

Cooked Thrashers the specialty in Boston

The Boston Bruins, reeling from a loss to the Capitals two nights earlier, welcomed Atlanta into the Fleet Center to work out some frustration on the losingest team in the league.

They probably didn't get enough out, but the home team got the two points for the win, which is ultimately what matters.

Atlanta struck a dagger to the heart of the gathered fans as they scored first, as Kyle Kidney tucked a Ryan Steeves pass behind Andrew Raycroft for an early goal at 01:41 of the first. The scoring then went silent for the next ten minutes, until, on a power play set up by Brett Scheffelmeier's elbowing misconduct penalty, Lars Jonnson fed Shawn McEachern for the power play goal to tie the game at one.

The stalemate would end three-and-a-half minutes later when Ilja Nikulin put the Thrashers back on top at 14:05. The Thrashers outshot the hosts by a two-to-one margin in the period, 11 to 5, and took the same ratio into the lockerroom, up 2-1.

The second period was the Bill Guerin show, as he scored his fifteenth and sixteenth goals of the season. Andy McDonald received an assist credit on both plays, which ultimately led to him receiving the first game star. The period ended with the Bruins leading 3-2, despite once again being outshot, this time nine to eight.

With tension mounting, Darcy Hordichuk scored a rare goal - his second of the year - at 08:54 to retie the game.

The difference maker came, though, when Derek MacKenzie was whistled for roughing with less than three minutes to play. Looking to capitalize on the power play, Martin Havlat fired a cross-ice pass to Shawn McEachern, who redirected to a speeding Keith Tkachuk. Shuffling past Nikulin, Tkachuk went glove side on the helpless Michael Garnett for the game winner.

The power play was the difference, as the Bruins went two-for-seven on it, while the Thrashers were a mighty naught-for-one. Raycroft took the win on twenty-seven saves off thirty shots, while Garnett was victimized for four goals on twenty-two shots.

League issued medication paying off for Rangers and Leafs GMs. Both teams HOT!!!

No dangling GM's from ledges of the ACC. No crazed tirades after games. No Free porn in hotels. No psychotic episodes to report. Whats up with this??

Both the Rangers and Leafs teams were playing horribly early this season, and both GM's were pushed to the brink of hospitaliztion. Both made very large trades to shake things up, and both, on the advice of league doctors, were prescribed medications to steady their mental states. Well, after some skeptic comments about how these might be a ploy by league offices to "control" the gms, both teams find themselves not only in a playoff position, but are playing some of their best hockey of the season.

Both teams are sporting 7-3 records
Both teams are riding winning streaks of 4 and 5 games respectively
Both teams are tied for 3rd in the conference with .567 winning %.

These teams are doing so well, that other GM's have been seen feigning symptoms of psychosymatic behavior. How despereate are teams to get their hands on these meds??

Take the defending champs Tampa Bay Lightning for instance. Brutal start to the season, wouldnt trade anyone off of their roster,(though they so-called "listened" to offers))then the GM decides to go fight in Afganistan!!!. Team starts winning, 6-3-1 past ten, and empty prescription bottles seen around the Tampa dressing room after the JR Leafs/JR Lightning double header.

Could the Hurricanes insane start to the year possibly have anything to do with this? Perhaps their recent trading off of superstars and slide in the standings is on par with them running out of pills. Heck, the league leading Islanders are an incredible .777 winning percent, and who runs their team??? Well none other than the commish himself. Must be easy when you can self prescribe these meds eh?

Rumors are out there that the Panthers, Coyotes, and Devils have applied to recieve these medications, however do not show enough signs of insane behavior to be eligable for them.

Will this mean more GMs visiting the ACC, standing on the window ledges outside the arena, and threaten to jump? The Leafs brass have hired additional security in anticipation of any actions along these lines, and have improved their security system on their medicine cabinets.

Junior Capitals Crush Canucks

The Washington Junior Capitals scored three first period goals and never looked back in a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Junior Canucks on Day 69. The win moves Washington to 14-17-3 for the season.

Lance Moynch gave Washington a perfect start when he scored his 10th goal of the season from Matt Maglione and Sean Bergenheim at 1:24, but Vancouver answered back just over four minutes later on the power play. With Henrik Tallinder in the box for elbowing, Sainomaa lit the lamp from Branham and Courchaine at 5:40 to tie the game. The Capitals responded with a power play goal of their own at 11:40 to regain the lead. Igor Shadulov scored the goal from Zbynek Novak and Branko Radivojevic. Nearly seven minutes later it was 3-1 as Greg Mauldin netted his sixth of the year from Maxim Orlov and Fabien Laniel.

After a scoress second period, Washington extended the lead on a shorthanded goal by Begenheim at 10:18. Thirty-six seconds later the gloves dropped and Radivojevic beat up Vancouver's Redenbach. Mauldin added a late marker for the Capitals to complete the rout. Laniel and Brett Carson earned assists on the goal.

Daniel Taylor made 23 saves to earn the win and improve to 6-5-1. Brandon Crawford-West stopped 21 shots in the loss. Gabriel Bouthillette made three saves in relief.

The Junior Capitals are back in action on Day 70 against Dallas.

JR CANES WIN GAME, LOSE PLAYER

Carolina

The Hurricanes were able to out dual the Ottawa Sens in a junior match up, but the result is one that has many in the organization worried.

In a horrific crash, veteran forward Kirk McLeod fell awkwardly into the boards after trying to beat out an icing on Wednesday and the result was multiple fractures in his left arm as he tried to absorb the blow. The arm folded up and the resulting inury left many onlookers mortified. Initial diagnosis of the arm did not go well.

"Unfortunately for Kirk, there is nerve damage," said Dr. Fliedenhoffen. "There are three fractures in his arm, one of which was a clean break which did not effect anything internal other than the bone itself. The other two fractures severeda tendon and several portions of the nerve in his mid to upper forearm. Those are the areas of concern."

McLeod's family has been flown to the Raleigh Medical Centre and it is expected that McLeod will return to surgery later this afternoon. For now it is a waiting game.

"McLeod is one of the main leaders on this team," said captain Brandon Reid. "When he went down, everyone sort of figured he’d be fine and skate it off. But when we saw the look in his face and saw that his arm was flopping, we knew it was bad. This is a hard hit for our team. We are a close bunch of guys and whenever something like this happens, hockey sort of takes a back seat."

When asked if the injury could possibly end McLeod's career, Dr. Fliedenhoffen stated that it is quite early to tell, but if the rehab does not go well, McLeod could end up losing partial mobility in his arm, effectively ending the young centers career.

"I do not want to say what will happen," said the doctor. "These things can go many different ways. The surgery this afternoon will give us a better understanding of what we are dealing with. For now, we need to wait and see, as hard as it may be."

The injury was not due to any Ottawa Senator interference as McLeod simply lost balance chasing a puck. There will be no further review of the play.

CANES GAME ENDS WITH VICTORY, INJURIES

Carolina

The Hurricanes went to Vancouver to see an old friend and a game erupted. The Canescame to play and in the end, took down the Vacnouver Canucks 5-3.

It took under 5 minutes, but former Hurricane Alexei Kovalev received his welcome back to Carolina with a solid shot from second year defender Jeff Woywitka, and that was enough end the night of Kovalev.

"It was a typical night for the Hurricanes," said captain Shane Doan, who had 2 points in the game. "The Canes won and Kovalev didn’t have any points and quit the game early."

Marian Cisar made a triumphant return to Vancouver, adding two assists to his point total and going +2 on the game. Cisar, a speedy right winger, has since been added to the Cory Stillman and Mike Fisher line, a spot that was formerly held for the aforementioned Kovealev. Each player on the line picked up two points.

Robert Gherson, the young rookie netminder, made his second consecutive start and looked solid in between the pipes. After a rough start of the season, being pulled in all but one game, Gherson has now made two successful back to back starts allowing a total of 4 goals, including a heart breaking 1-0 loss where the taltented stopped was exceptional.

Also of note, Darcy Tucker took a slash from defenseman Ruslan Salei early in the second and did not return. Reports out of the Carolina camp are saying that Tucker’s wrist is not broken and does not look as serious as first thought. Tucker will, however, likely miss a couple games due to the injury. Look for rookie Michael Woodford to get another call to the Hurricanes lineup in place of the Canes gritty forward.

The Canes have tonight off.

Philadelphia Flies Past Washington

The Washington Capitals continued to struggle holding leads as the Philadelphia Flyers escaped with a 4-3 victory on Day 68. The loss drops Washington to 12-17-3 for the season.

The Caps got off to a great start in the first period with two goal in the first 8:23. Zigmund Palffy got the first from Patrick Marleau and Rob Blake at 4:34. Greg Watson then made it 2-0 when he converted from Todd Warriner and Frantisek Lukes.

Washington's solid play continued in the second period. Philadelphia pulled a goal back through Berg from White and Savage at 10:31, but Jonathan Cheechoo made it 3-1 when he scored from Blake and Palffy at 18:21.

Leading 3-1 after 50 minutes, Washington looked to be in control of the game, but the Flyers scored three times in the final 5:31 to come away with an improbable victory. Kalinin started the rally with his fifth goal of the campaign from Savage and White at 14:29. Hatcher then tied the game when he scored from Kalinin at 16:41, and Brind'Amour completed the win with a goal from Schutte and Kalinin at 19:23.

Manny Legace stopped 23 shots to take the loss for Washington. Felix Potvin was cat-like with his 28 saves in the win for the Flyers.

The Capitals will try to get back to winning ways on Day 70 against the Boston Bruins.

Ottawa Pro and JR suit up tonight

GM Schmucky plans to sleep through the pro Senators game tonight as he has already predicted the outcome to be ugly!! Although the Sabres are a bottom-basement team right along side the Senators, Ottawa was embarrassed last time they played, two nights ago, and Schmucky would rather take in the JR game where his JR Sens are in first in the Campbell Conference and only 2 points out of first overall.

When asked if the Pro Senators are making any adjustments after last game Schmucky laughed and stated, "Well, Turek has taken a pummeling the last few nights facing over 33 shots in each of his last 6 appearances so, we'll give him a rest and start Fred Brathwaite who has had some pretty good performances this year. Otherwise, we're pretty much up Shit Creek without a paddle."

As for the Juniors, Brian Maclellan returns to the lineup after a 3 week injury tonight to replace suspended Peter Reynolds on the first line Defensive pairing. It has also been reported that young superstar Alexander Semin will be ready to play next game as he is about 97% healed from his 6 week injury. Brian O'Hanley, the #2 dman, should be prepared to play that same game. So, after facing adversity the last 2 months with 3 major stars injured for significant periods of time and some major players attending camps, the JR Sens have faired well in first place. Imagine the potential when they have a full lineup later this week!!

Bruins deny allegations

Earlier this week, rumors began swirling that Boston Bruins GM Joshua Anderson had become pals with Tom Kozlowski, the recently returned General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Allegedly, in an effort to unload Matt Walker, Anderson told Kozlowski that he "was [his] boy" so he could acquire Walker for a song.

Immediately, the whispers began that the two were friends, and were attending sporting events together and drinking from the same case of beer. Upon catching wind of the rumors, Anderson called a press conference.

"I categorically deny all allegations." Anderson stated. "Tom is simply another GM who may be interested in acquiring Matt Walker. In order to sweeten the deal, I told Tom that I'd give him a better-than-fair price since he's 'my boy.' But we all know that is not true - I'm a fan of the Green Engine. That was just trade negotiations."

Anderson continued, "As further proof, I'd like to give everyone in the league one of the t-shirts I am wearing today as further proof. Please, stop by the front desk for your copy. We have all the way up to size 5XL. By accepting a t-shirt, you are opening the possibility of being contacted about acquiring Matt Walker, but by no means are you committed to such a move."

The gathered media conceded they accepted the story.

Bruins voted down by Capitols

Looking to repeat their previous tail-whoopin of the Washington club, the Boston Bruins took to their home ice last night with a bit of a swagger.

As it turns out, they shouldn't have.

The Bruins struck out to an early lead, with Pierre Turgeon, filling in for the injured Matt Hartigan, scoring early on a Tim Connolly-Peter Sykora assist at the 04:25. Ten minutes later, Fran Kaberle fed Andy McDonald twenty feet out, which McDonald turned and wristed past Manny Legace for his eleventh of the season.

The first period eas mostly marred by thuggery, with twenty-two penalty minutes doled out to the two teams. Amazingly, despite that tally, there were no power play goals in the first.

The second, though, was different. Martin Havlat's unsportsmanlike conduct whistle carried into the second period, and the Capitals capitalized (pun intended), as Johnny Cheechoo made the home team pay 00:51 in. Eight seconds later, Franny Lukes beat Raycroft again to knot the game at two.

As Boston scrambled and lost their focus - attempting just twelve shots on the period - Artem Chubarov took advantage of the confusion, beating Raycroft for the third time in the period. Heads hanging, the Bruins retreated to the lockerroom down 3-2.

The Bruins attacked come the third period, outshooting the Caps 13-5 in the period. Jochan Hecht scored what is referred to as a power play goa following a call on Bryan Berard for roughing at 01:00, putting the hosts in a 5 on 3 situation. They couldn't capitalize with the two man advantage, but scored with only seven seconds remaining in the power play to tie it up.

Continuin on the offensive, the team found little luck but bad. Jonathan Cheechoo found it necessarily to not just kick the dog, but stomp on it, as he scored the winning goal on Raycroft just short of ten minutes into the period.

Raycroft stopped 24 of 28 shots - a likely indicator of road-weariness to drop to 14-13-3 on the year, and the Bruins failed to make the most of their power plays, going one-for-six.

"Well, next up is Atlanta," GM Joshua Anderson stated. "Guess we'll take it out on them."

Habs Hammer Junior Capitals

The Washington Junior Capitals failed to score on four power play chances, and the Montreal Canadiens made them pay in a 4-0 victory on Day 67. The loss drops Washington to 13-17-3 for the season.

Montreal got on the board late in a rough and tumble first period. Frazen got the goal from Cetkovsky and Kosmachev at 19:47. The Capitals actually held the edge in shots during first period 13-8 but failed to put any past the Montreal goaltender.

The Canadiens extended their lead to 2-0 when Chvojka scored from Himelfarb and Eriksson at 8:52 of the second period. Washington then had six minutes of power play time to mount a response, but the offense simply wouldn't click and the Habs kept the Caps off the board. Patrick O'Sullivan dropped the gloves with Montreal's Krikunov at 18:29 to try and fire up his team, but the move backfired as he suffered a bad loss in the bout and Eriksson scored his 10th of the season from Immonent and Korneev just 42 seconds later.

Montreal added a fourth goal midway through the final period when Naurov converted from Himelfarb and Cetkovsky at 10:01.

Brad Topping stopped just 23 shots in the loss for the Capitals. Olivier Michaud made 29 saves to earn the shutout win.

The Junior Capitals are back in action on Day 69 against Vancouver.

Shocking News out of Ottawa today!

Now that we have your attention; GM Schmucky officially announced today that the Senators are willing to move almost ANYONE out of Ottawa in order to improve their team. When asked why GM Schmucky said, "Do you even have to ask? We have been terrible lately! We have switched the lines as many ways as possible. We have tried almost everything possible. There comes a time when you have to move people and we feel that now is that time.

The Senators have a terrible 11 20 and 4 record and that is below expectations, "We were hoping to be at least competitive. We knew we were a young, developing team but this is disgusting. The fans will not stand for this and neither will we." Schmucky remarked.

The Sens have announced that the young, fiery center Pierre Marc Bouchard, solid dman Ryan Whitney and partner Filip Novak are among the only untouchables on the roster.

Guys like Ryder, Morrison, Nedved, Selanne and pretty much all of the roster besides the above three are available for deals that will improve the team. This includes all goaltenders and farm players as well. To inquire please msg Schmucky on mirc or email him at jasonschmuck@hotmail.com.

INTELLIGENT OFFERS ONLY

Capitals Frozen by Avalanche

Mikael Renberg scored two goals and assisted on a third, but it wasn't enough for the Washington Capitals as the Colorado Avalanche skated to a 4-3 victory on Day 66. The loss drops Washington to 12-16-3 for the season.

After both teams failed to score on a pair of power plays each, Renberg opened the scoring at 15:52. The goal, his 10th of the season, was assisted by Radoslav Suchy and Greg Watson.

The Capitals made it 2-0 early in the second period when Renberg netted his second of the game from Anson Carter at 2:25, but after the goal, Colorado turned on the offense. Isbister got a goal back for the Avs from Reinprecht and Pettinger at 9:49, before Forbserg tied it up with his 19th of the season from Kobesaw and Vrbata. Washington had two more power play chances in the second period but failed to score.

Washington finally got back on the board in the opening stages of the final period. Jonathan Cheechoo got the goal with the extra man from Carter and Renberg at 1:59. The Caps had two more power play opportunities after the goal, but failed to add to the lead. The missed chances would prove costly as Colorado tied the game at 18:30 through Reinprect from Pettinger and Isbister. Beech then netted from Svatos with just three seconds remaining to secure the win.

Manny Legace stopped 29 shots in the loss to fall to 10-14-2. Manny Fernandez made 25 saves in the win for the Avalanche.

Washington returns to action on Day 68 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

CANES TIE YOTES AS CISAR SHOWS SOURAY WHO IS KING

Carolina

In a non conference game, the Phoenix Coyotes and the Carolina Hurricanes got it on in vicious style. The two teams threw hits and scored goals but in the end, neither could be declared the winner. Rookie netminder Robert Gherson of Carolina made another unsuccessful start as he was once again pulled after 5 goals. Theodore came in relief and shut the door.

"We set the tone but we couldn't finish them off," said captain Shane Doan.

With momentum swinging in the Coyotes favor, Marian Cisar laid a solid open ice check on Yotes defenseman Sheldon Souray and the crowd went nuts.

After being drilled by the speedy winger, Souray took matters into his own hands and dropped his gloves on the spot. Cisar saw it coming and as Souray swung his big paw towards Cisar, the Hurricane sniper connected with a devastating uppercut, knocking the large defenseman silly. As the big Souray crashed to the ice, the big man folded like an accordion, seemingly shattering his collarbone.

"He's a big guy, but that's about it," said Cisar. "He thought maybe he could overpower me by charging, but after I unloaded on him, I think he needs his Momma now."

The talented winger, not normally thought of as a tough guy, made quick work of the much bigger adversary. Cisar was given a game misconduct however, after getting a bit too excited about taunting the big defender.

"He's usually being beaten for highlight goals," said Cisar, "but this time he was just beaten in general and I wanted him to know that."

The Canes and Yotes would ultimately tie in the game at five a piece. Canes got solid performances from Doan and Wellwood, who each had 3 points.

The Hurricanes take on the Montreal Canadians tonight.

Capitals Tie Slippery Oilers

Zigmund Palffy created two goals to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-4 tie with the Edmonton Oilers on Day 64. The point moves Washington to 12-15-4 for the season.

The Capitals dominated the play in the opening period, and Anson Carter opened the scoring from Mikael Renberg and Bryan Berard at 11:45. Washington had missed two power play chances before the goal. Another failed opportunity with the extra man set the Caps back, but Frantisek Lukes made up for the lack of production with a shorthanded goal from Dan Boyle and Palffy at 19:34.

Edmonton stormed back in the second period with a pair of goals in the first 38 seconds. Parrish made it 2-1 on the power play when he scored from Primeau and McAllister after just seven seconds, and Classen tied the game 31 seconds later from Donovan and Grand-Pierre. Washington answered the Edmton rally with a couple goals of their own to regain their two-goal edge. Radoslav Suchy got the first from Greg Watson and Andrew Ference at 5:05, before Artem Chubarov scored his ninth of the season from Palffy and Todd Warriner at 8:17.

Just as they did in the second period, the Oilers scored two goals in the final period to level the score. Donovan got the first on an unassisted tally at 7:51, and Primeau tied the game for good 43 seconds later from Ference and Frolov. The Capitals had two more chances on the power play but failed on both opportunities.

Manny Legace made 31 saves for Washington, while Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 26 shots for the Oilers.

The Capitals are back in action on Day 66 against the Colorado Avalanche.

Junior Capitals Douse Flames

Sean Bergenheim set up three goals to lead the Washington Junior Capitals to a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Junior Flames on Day 64. The victory moves Washington to 13-16-3 for the season.

Calgary opened the scoring late in a penalty-filled first period. The steady parade to the penalty box would be a theme for the game as the calls came early and often. Shastin got the goal for Calgary at 19:20 from Printz to make it 1-0 at the intermission. The other action in the period was a fight where Branko Radivojevic beat up Calgary's King at 13:33, and a second fight that saw Fabien Laniel beat up poor Mr. King at 18:45.

Washington tied the game early in the second period when Lance Moynch netted from Patrick O'Sullivan and Mikhail Kuleshov after just 21 seconds. The Capitals then took their first lead of the game 6:31 on Cory Urquhart's shorthanded tally from Bergenheim and Henrik Tallinder.

The Flames tied the game on the power play at 4:41 of the final period, but Washington took over after the goal. Jakub Cutta scored the eventual game-winner from Sean Kotary and Igor Shadulov at 7:14, before Kotary made it 4-2 from Cutta and Bergenheim at 11:36. Ryan MacMurchy added a late goal from Bergenheim to provide the final score.

Daniel Taylor made 26 saves to earn the win and improve to 5-5-1. Levente Szuper stopped 29 shots in the loss for Calgary. Chris Heino-Lindberg made one save in relief.

The Junior Capitals return to action on Day 67 against Montreal.

New League rule banning Lohaus from rolling starts paying off

3 Leaf Junior players come back from skills camp with great results.

Results for the recent players sent.
Cory Perry 5 SC
Alexander Ovechkin 5 SC
Staffan Kronwall 6 DF


As you can see, they all faired quite well with Kronwall coming back with a 6 in DF.

All the success is credited to the fact that Hurricanes GM Lohaus being banned from rolling camp rolls. Even the Canes JR Brad Richards scored a 6 in DF, the first 6 in 2 seasons for them. Not sure why it took this long for the League and Lohaus to come to this realization. Perhaps it was a conspiracy on the leagues part to keep junior ratings low?

All is not lost for GM Lohaus though, as a new Casino that opened in Ajax Ontario Canada has hired his services as a "Cooler". He will ensure all players on hot streaks lose them. Im sure he will be employable in this field for a long time.

Either way, im sure gms around the league are happy. Well, the ones who got a positive roll anyway :)

CANES POWER PLAY CONNECTS FOR THREE, CANES WIN

Carolina

The Hurricanes have started a new streak of three straight wins and are trying to keep pace with the powerhouse New York Islanders. The latest victims were the Columbus Blue Jackets who took a mere 4 minor penalties, but three of wich ended up costing the team.

Up front and center for the Canes was sophomore center Kyle Wellwood, who exploded for 5 points, including notching his 13th of the season, good enough for second on the team, and second only to linemate Jeff Friesen who leads with 17. Wellwood, 23, continues to roll along this season and now sits at 28 points in 34 games.

"It was no secret that we dealt Brendan Morrison to Ottawa because we as an organization felt it was Wellwood's time to step up," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "I am somewhat surprised by how well he has taken on that role, but not that surprised that I didn't think he could handle it. He has had a great year so far."

Wellwood's success started the day that gritty right winger Darcy Tucker was acquired. When the veteran arrived to Carolina, he was immediately put on a line with Wellwood and the speedy Jeff Friesen and the trio has not looked back.

"Playing with two guys like Freeze and Tuck have made it a lot easier on me," said Wellwood. "The two of them have been around a while and they know about the little things that make guys successful. I try and keep up, I try and set them up and I try and contribute offensively and so far it has worked."

The trio is also +14 since the arrival of Tucker proving that the threesome can also do their fair share of defense.

"I am never worried about putting them out," said Quenneville. "Each of them brings a little something different to the line. Wellwood's is creativity, Friesen's is his speed and Tucker's is commitment to winning at all costs. Together they are pretty much a complete line."

Carolina will take the next day off completely as Quenneville felt the team needed a bit of a break. Look for rookie Robert Gherson to get the next start in hopes of allowing Theodore the much needed rest he deserves.

Injury Wave Hits Biblical Proportions

First there were locusts, then frogs, then pestilence and then there were wave after wave of sports related injuries. Finally the Pharoah said, "Ok God! You're kicking my ass! I give up!"

The coach of the New York Rangers junior team attempted to hand in his resignation after Jarmome Marios was injured and will be out for a month. An understanding and compassionate GM Burns refused to accept it and let the beleagured coach cry it out in his office.

The New York Ranger Jr team has seen an injury wave the likes of which is rarely seen in sport. No less than 8 players were out with injuries last game plus 2 who were sent to camp for a total of 10 bodies missing. Not surprisingly the team has plummetted down the standings.

Last night, when Jermome Marios was crushed in front of the Ranger bench, the coach broke down in tears and had to be consoled by his assisstant coaches. The team is reeling and have now sent 3rd leading scorer Kamil Kreps to passing camp which will make things difficult over the next week.

"The focus of the junior team is development," said GM Burns, "so we will still continue to camp our players. I've never seen an injury list this long in my life. Fortunately we'll have 5 guys able to play tonight though they're not 100%."

Senators Lose, GM Schmucky can only watch!

The Ottawa Senators have done it again, they have lost to a basement team that they should have been able to beat. Not only that but they also gave up more than 30 shots on goal for the millionth time this year and GM Schmucky is at his wits end with what to do,

"It's disgusting. That's all I can say. This team's effort and spirit makes me sick! We go out and get a solid Defensive forward to try to help the situation in Jere Lehtinen, and it just gets worse. We have a solid, youthful defensive core and they can't stop the puck from getting to the net. Brendan Morrison and Petr Nedved, who produced early in the season and the preseason, have been terrible with less than 3 points in their last 5 games and boasting +/-'s that would make anybody vomit!"

The Senators have recently announced that they are looking to improve their team with some trades and that almost anyone would be available for the right deal, but so far the offers that have come through are not what GM Schmucky is looking for, "We are looking to make some moves but we are not looking to trade a significant chunk of youth for some old men that are going to retire in the next few years. If that is the case, we will just wait this year out, make a run at Free Agency and hope that through development of young players, acquisition of some solid veterans and maybe a few trades we can make Ottawa a playoff bound team at the very least!"

Baby Bruins go camping - no Boy Scouts welcome

The Providence Bruins were greeted with a special treat today, as Bruins' living legend Bobby Orr came to town to discuss defensive skills with the team - paying special heed to Zach Tarkir and Rick Kozack.

Both had spent time in defensive camp this week, and results showed they both came home with some new knowledge.

Tarkir, the twenty-one year old defenseman, was awe-struck by the presence of Orr in the practice. "I am pleased to have met Mr. Orr today. I am honored he took the time to talk to us, and I hope I can have an illustrious career as he did. Personally, I feel my skills improved about ten percent from before the camps. Hopefully my play will show that and the management will see it."

Meanwhile, the rightwinger Rick Kozack also expressed his opinion on camps and Orr, telling the gathered press "Pretty cool..." then shrugging.

Both men will be sent to passing camp next week, so they were mostly just picking up mail and changing bags for clothing.

CANES FALLING QUICKLY IN STANDINGS AS ISLES REFUSE TO LOSE

Carolina

With a season quickly hitting its midway, the Hurricanes find themselves comfortably in second place as the former Champions, the New York Islanders, continue to steam roll its competition.

"The Isles are as deep as anyone in the league." Said defensema Jay McKee. "They come at you in waves, so much offense. Big problem though is it just isn’t their forwards that are scary, their defense doesn't give you a hell of a lot either. We just have to find a way to keep up with them and hope they hit a slump."

The Canes, who went on an undefeated streak of 16 games, now find themselves 9 points out of first. The Isles have gone 9-0-1 in their last 10 while the Canes stumbled after their big streak and went 4-5-1 in the same span.

"It is no secret that when we slipped, they capitalized," said captain Shane Doan. "We need to concentrate on our own team though. We need to get out offense rolling again. Scoring 10 goals in the last 2 games though seemingly has us back on track. Personally, I think a lot of our offense problems were just mental road blocks, but it seems to me we have moved past that. Bring on whoever now."

The Canes will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets and look for Jose Theodore to get the start in hopes to continue a new streak.

"In order for us to be successful, we need Theo to be solid," said Doan. "He is a monster back there and he gets a lot of teams intimidated before the game even begins. I like that. Makes teams think they need to make the perfect play all the time. Whatever toots their horn."

Columbus is in Carolina tonight.

RICHARDS AND WEBER SET FOR PASSING CAMP

Carolina

With the regular season approaching the midway mark, the Carolina Hurricanes obvious weakness lies in its poor defensive play within their own zone as well as getting the puck out of their own zone. With that being said, the Carolina Hurricanes have taken it's turn to send two youngster, Mike Richards and Shea Weber, to passing camp in order to help alleviate some of the on ice problems.

"The team is brutal in its own end," said head coach Craig Hartsburgh. "These two kids have not been to blame at all, but personally, they are two of the more committed kids on the team so giving them an opportunity to get better works for me. I hope they come back and simply dominate."

Richards, 19, is a former first rounder and was acquired last season during the draft. The hard hitting center was a key part of the OHL's Kitchener Rangers Memorial Cup run. He was also the captain for Team Canada during their gold medal winning 2005 season. The chance of improving his game is something the future captain is excited about.

"Everyone wants to get better," said Richards. "I think if you think you are already good enough, then you don't belong in a sport. Learning every day, trying to be the best you can be, are all keys to being a winner. I like to win and I will do whatever it takes to win. That is just who I am."

The Canes have been reluctant to let the young center play. With current centers Jeff Carter, Brandon Reid, Kirk McLeod and Brian Boyle taking up most of the time, Richards has often found himself in the press box.

"Ya, it isn't so easy watching every game. I guess it is more or less why I am going to fight to get back in there. I don't like to watch the games, I want to be out there competing and giving it everything I have."

Richards is currently in his final day of defensive camp. He will not return to Carolina right away as passing camp begins immediately afterwards.

NEW LINE ALRIGHT WITH CANES

Carolina

When the 27 year old was acquired from Vancouver, many expected the sleek right winger to contribute offensively. What was not expected was the winger being able to maintain his composure, battle down low and help keep the puck out of his own zone.

"Playing with Stillman, we figured Cisar would be a new trigger man for a creative center," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "The kid has a rocket on that stick. The thing that I noticed right away was his attention to detail. He knows how to play the game in both ends, far more than we expected."

Cisar, who currently has 2 points in 2 games, was also +4 in the two contests. Onlookers have suggested having two way left winger Mike Fisher has helped the winger make the adjustment.

"I don't preach to him about how the game should be played," said Fisher, a devout Christian, "but I do expect that everyone on the ice plays the entire rink. Kovy was far better than anyone I have ever played with offensively but he never figured out that there is another zone. Cisar seems to get it."

Fisher, who has started to heat up as of late, currently sits with 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in 33 games. The talented forward was expected to put up more numbers this year after a strong, point a game playoff run last season in which the Canes were defeated by the defending Stanley Cup Champion New York Islanders. After that run performance, the Canes handed over the assistant captaincy to Fisher, formerly belonging to departed winger Jeff O'Neill.

"It is an honor to be able to have a letter on your sweater," said the Fish. "I take it to heart. It means you represent the team and I want the team to be respected."

Fisher quickly became a fan favourite for his intense style, aggressive forechecking and defensive play. Adding offense this year and getting offensive ice time has helped the youngster feel more comfortable in the lineup.

Canes take on the Blue Jackets this evening.

Junior Capitals Stopped by Columbus

The Washington Junior Capitals outshot the Columbus Junior Blue Jackets 34-23, but it mattered little as the Jackets converted on three power plays to secure a 5-2 victory on Day 63. Washington dropped to 12-16-3 with the loss.

The Capitals dominated the opening period, but after wasting seven minutes of power play time, the team went down a goal the first time they were shorthanded. With Lance Moynch in the box for hooking, Naurov scored from Kolarik and Alen at 16:48 to give the Jackets a 1-0 lead.

The second period saw a number of penalties and another Columbus power play goal late in the action. Jean-Claude Sawyer was in the box this time for roughing as Aikens netted from Mandeville at 16:49 to make it 2-0. The gloves dropped a couple minutes after the goal as Igor Shadulov and Beckett fought to a draw.

Another fight opened the third period with Fabien Laniel and Aikens squaring off without a winner at 2:07. Thirty-six seconds later it was 3-0 as Fitzgerald scored from Sannit and Estrada for the Jackets. Washington finally pulled a goal back at 11:54 when Sawyer netted from Ryan MacMurchy and Laniel, but nine seconds later Columbus was on the board again. Kurka got the goal from Aikens and Mandeville to make it 4-1. The Capitals scored their second goal at 16:00 through Moynch rom Matt Maglione and Sean Bergenheim. Columbus wasn't finished, however, and Mandeville completed the scoring on the power play from Hennessy and Kolarik at 18:23. A final fight 25 seconds after the goal saw Moynch beat up Columbus' Aikens, but it was nothing more than an emotional lift for the Washington fans.

Brad Topping made just 18 saves in the loss to fall to 8-11-2. Yan Danis stopped 23 shots to earn the win for Columbus.

The Junior Capitals return to action on Day 64 against Calgary.

WEBER AND PHANEUF, THE CANES FUTURE TWIN TOWERS

Carolina

As the junior Canes continue to flounder in their own end, hopes are still high for two of it's young defenders. Dion Phaneuf and Shea Weber, although young, continue to impress the coaching staff with their aggressive style and composure.

"Our team as a whole continues to get scored on for whatever reason," said head coach Craig Hartsburgh, "but you won't hear me complain about either one of these two kids. Dion is a sick player, an aggressive beast who makes people take notice. Weber is a more steady, composed guy who makes a great first pass and helps bring our squad more offense. I figure together, they will cause a lot of teams stress for seasons to come."

Weber, who has been able to provide about a point every two games, has been able to take up the extra repsonsiblity and play with Brayden Coburn on the checking unit. The two have helped shut down opposing teams top lines while producing some points here and there. Phaneuf has been bouncing back and forth from the first and second dline.

"The second line is just getting pounded game in and game out," said Harstburgh. "Seems that no matter what we do, it gets scored on."

The Canes attempt to bounce back from the shootout loss to Florida.

Battle of the Basement!

Sound like the headline for a Leafs vs. Canucks game in the NHL? Well, sorry to disappoint you but even tonight's basement dwellers duel between Ottawa and Buffalo couldn't be as bad as a Leafs vs. Canucks game this year. However, it is expected to be pretty dull.

Both teams are semi-youthful and are patiently awaiting the development of their future stars while their veterans struggle to mentor and produce without much support.

The Ottawa Senators are unbeaten in their last 2 games having beaten the Flyers 5-4 and tieing the Panthers 3-3 last game. Most of their recent success has to be attributed to goaltender Roman Turek who has been heavily criticised lately for his shotty play and underachieving. In his last four games he has stopped more than 30 shots and has performed like a starting goalie should.

However, the defense has not! Although expectations were high for this Defensive core that looks strong on paper, they are still very young with the main 3 guys being under 24 years old! The rumour mill has been flowing with offers being placed on young Holmqvist and forwards like Ryder and Morrison...all of which could be on the move!

So look for a barn burner tonight in Ottawa as the Sens suit up against the Sabres for what should turn out to be more like a minor atom AA game then an actual professional hockey bout.

Kids home from camp with mixed emotions and a rash

Sent off to learn how to score - no, not that way, you pervert - two members of the Providence Baby Bruins had a mixed reaction from the experience.

Pierre-Luc Edmon, the center who had scored five goals to go with his six assists thus far this season, had a positive experience. Edmon claimed he felt he improved about ten percent, and in fact, scouting reports now rate him a 66 in scoring, up from his previous scoring of 60 before the camps.


Meanwhile, defenseman Milan Jurcina had fewer positive things to say. He felt he got minimal benefit from his week away. "I was sent to become more well rounded... but I felt I just skated around and slapped the puck. Where's the big in that?"

GM Joshua Anderson, asked for comments, shrugged. "Any time a player gets better, how can you complain? I mean, really? Maybe they were not massive, ego driving, difference making improvements... but they sufficed. That's all we can ask for."

Andrew Raycroft, Player of the Month

Final balloting and scoring has been compiled and Boston Bruins Andrew Raycroft was named the winner of Player of the Month for the second period of CLUTCH Season Five.

Raycroft, who played thirteen games in the month with a 9-1-3 record, had one shutout and a save percentage of 91.3% He deflected all but thirty-two shots of the three hundred sixty-seven taken at him.

During the stretch, the Bruins went from basement dweller to playoff fighter. After beginning the year 1-11, the team sits at 16-15-3 now, and are being carried by Raycroft.

"I must thank my teammates," Raycroft said. "Without the defense ahead of me..."

Raycroft stopped to choke back a tear or two as he held the trophy aloft. He continued, "Without the defense ahead of me, I never would have faced so many shots, which helped my save percentage. I must thank them, and I thank my equipment sponsor for working on the extra padding. It's been a lifesaver."

Raycroft is the first goalie this season to win the award, and was the only goalie in the top twenty-five for the first two months of the year. He was not the only Bruin to finish in the top twenty-five for the second month of the season, though, as he was joined by Jochan Hecht (3rd), Tim Connolly (21), Lars Jonnson (22) and Fran Kaberle (25).

Defense!

Someone once said the best offense is a good defense. Of course, someone else has said the best defense is a good offense. Either way, the Baby Bruins have been taking measures to improve both, so they hope to prove one of the two anonymous quotables right.

This week, Rick Kozack and Zach Tarkir are absent from the Providence games as both are in defensive camp.

Kozack, a twenty-one year old Canadian right winger, is a fairly solid offensive force, fairly well ranked in scoring, passing, skating and puck control. But when he is on the ice, he is a defensive liability. Bruins management expects him to be capable of showing up in the pros in a year or two and developing into the player they hope they drafted - and if not, becoming tradable - by enrolling him in defensive camp.

Tarkir, on the other hand, the team hopes to develop into a sixth man. Sending him to defensive camp is an effort to improve him so he no longer sucks. Defense is already one of his more bankable qualities, but can be improved.

Both men will remain in camps next week.

Bruins burn Leafs, claim frontrunner spot

A sell-out crowd had the Fleet Center rocking for a showdown between the top teams in the Adams Division - the visiting Maple Leafs and their home team, the Boston Bruins. While Boston found themselves without Matt Hartigan - out with a knee injury following Kyle Calder's attack the previous night, veteran Pierre Turgeon stepped into the role in the interim.

The Bruins entered the night at an even 15-15-3 (33), trailing the Leafs for the division lead by one point, with an additional game played (15-13-3, 34). The Adams looks to be a run between the two teams, as the rest of the divisional foes have been mediocre at best - all under a breakeven record, all with losing records at home, and all with losing records against the rest of the conference.

This would be Andrew Raycroft's night to stand tall, as he shutout the Maple Leaf's offense - which had the most goals in the Adams entering the night by more than a five percent margin - and the Bruins offense shredded the defense that had allowed the fewest by nearly six percent.

The Leafs outshot the Bruins by a better than three-to-two margin - thirty-four to twenty-two - but Raycroft deflected each one with flair.

The Bruins got on the board first, as Sean Brown scored early in the game at 03:15 of the first off a Keith Tkachuk frozen rope, firing a twenty-foot bullet past Evgeni Nabokov.

Come the second period, the Bruins found themselves in the man disadvantage following a Lee Goren roughning minor, but paid little heed as they attacked the net. Bret Hedican, taking a dink pass from Tomas Kopecky, wrapped around the net and poked the puck in for the second score of the night, and his fourth of the season.

Tempers flared in the third as four penalties were whistled, including three against the home team. On all four power plays, the scoring came up short. Lars Jonsson closed the scoresheet for the night at 13:27 off of a Kaberle pass for his sixth basket biscuit of the year.

Andrew Raycroft graciously accepted the first game star for his 0-for-34 shot blocking, his first shutout of the season. Lars Jonnson accepted the second, and there was a hearty round of booing as Henrik Sedin received the third, not Jochan Hecht, despite his two assists on the night.

The Bruins will have the next three nights off to recoup and see how the other divisional action shakes out. Toronto travels to Anaheim tonight to face the Ducks - who have lost their last seven games - and can restake a claim on the divisional top spot.

Bruins Crush Capitals

The Washington Capitals came crashing back to earth on Day 61 in a 7-2 loss to the Boston Bruins. The game featured a bizarre incident in the first period that led to the opening goal. Washington falls to 12-15-3 with the loss.

After a relatively uneventful 10 minutes of play, Boston's Brown went to the box for elbowing at 10:15 to give Washington a power play. One second later it was 1-0 Bruins as Havlat scored his 10th of the season from Kutlak and Brown. Yes, Brown somehow earned an assist from the penalty box. Just over six minutes later the Capitals tied the game through Patrick Marleau from Frantisek Lukes and Jonathan Cheechoo.

Boston regained the lead early in the second period when Connolly scored from Havlat and Brown at 0:15, but the Caps tied it up again just 1:28 later. Todd Warriner got the goal for Washington from Bryan Berard and Rob Blake. The Bruins didn't waste much time taking the lead again as Kaberle scored from McDonald and Hecht at 8:14 to make it 3-2. After Washington failed on two power plays, including two full minutes of a 5-on-3 advantage, Rolston scored his fifth of the season for Boston to open a 4-2 lead. McEachern and Goren assisted on the goal.

The Bruins continued to pour it on in the final period, making it 5-2 when Havlat scored from Tkachuk and Hedican at 1:19. Less than four minutes later Johnson netted on the power play from Guerin and Kaberle, and just 22 seconds after Johnson's goal, Guerin completed the rout from Johnson and Hecht at 5:37.

Peter Skudra struggled in goal, stopping just 15 shots in the loss. Manny Legace made six saves in relief. Andrew Raycroft stopped 32 shots to earn the win.

Junior Capitals Conquer Canadiens

Jakub Cutta scored a goal and assisted on two more to lead the Washington Junior Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Junior Canadiens on Day 61. Washington improved to 12-15-3 with the win.

Washington jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the first period thanks to a power play goal from Sean Kotary. Zbynek Novak and Cutta assisted on the tally that came just three seconds into the man advantage. Montreal battled back to tie the game with a goal from Larrivee at 18:02. Malec and Zakharov assisted on the goal.

The second period opened with a series of penalties, and the Capitals regained the lead on a shorthanded goal from Greg Mauldin. The goal, his fifth of the season, came from Cutta and Novak at 8:37, just three seconds after Lance Moynch went to the box for roughing. Washington extended the lead to two goals on Branko Radivojevic's goal from Matt Maglione and Henrik Tallinder at 11:46.

The penalties kept coming in the final period, but this time the gloves came off as Montreal's Spang beat up Patrick O'Sullivan at 5:51. The Capitals added the final goal on the power play as Cutta scored from Mauldin and Moynch at 19:53.

Brad Topping made 27 saves to earn the win and improve to 8-10-2. Olivier Michaud stopped 23 shots in the loss.

The Junior Capitals return to action on Day 63 in Columbus.

Rangers Consider Name Change

In the NHL the Calgary Flames are the epitome of low scoring tough defensive hockey. With the overhaul that their team has experienced in New York this season some are advocating for the "Rangers" moniker to be changed to "Flames" in order to reflect their style of play.

The team has even gone into researching possible logos. The one above was leaked by an insider in the marketing department.

The New York Rangers exited last season with a team full of young snipers, weak but promising defence and an average goaltender. The team lost in the final of the Toilet Bowl but were cash strapped and had to move several young exciting players. The transformation has been remarkable.

The team started off with a brutal record and 3 of the top 6 defenseman have been replaced. The biggest change has been the addition of Wade Redden on defence. He's been a rock on defence but has been absolutely snakebit on offence. Despite 30 shots on net in only 8 games since coming to New York he has yet to record a goal. With that kind of output it should only be a matter of time until he starts to find the twine.The team's currently is currently 4th in Goals against per game - allowing only 2.82 goals - a stat which has been falling over the last 10 games or so. The team is 25th in scoring, however, with the exact same goals for per game.

"They're a frustrating team to play against," said Sergei Samsonov of the Montreal Canadians after a 2-1 loss to the air tight Rangers. "They definitely cut down on your space in a hurry out there and they play and hit hard the whole game."

Adding to the team’s upswing of late has been their focus on discipline. Several undisciplined players have been moved in favour of more level headed players and the teams penalty minutes per game has dropped from 24-25 minutes to 17.5. They've played two games recently where they didn't take one penalty.

Team captain Mike Ribeiro acknowledged the change in approach his team has undertaken. "Yep. We're not going to blow anyone out but teams are going to have a real tough time scoring on us. We relish our roles as agitators and frustrators. We play like a boa constrictor. We try and squeeze the life out of the other team. It’s not that we don’t have offensive talent - We've got plenty of guys who can bury the puck if they get a chance so we don't need that many chances to score. When we get ahead we just start to squeeze."

JR CANES LOSE SHOOTOUT TO FLORIDA

Carolina

The Hurricanes had a visit from conference rival, the Florida Panthers and the crowd would leave the game seeing 11 goals. The Canes, however, would come out on the short end of the stick.

"I still cannot understand why we allow so many goals," said head coach Craig Hartsburgh. "I preach defense over and over, we work on it in practice and we work with our goaltenders, but my god. Every game it seems we have dozens of quality scoring chances against us. We cannot score 7 goals a game to win every time, this is not something any team expects."

Carolina currently sits third in the league for goals for but are dead last in goals against. With a roster that boasts so many high end players, especially on defense, the coaching staff is truly boggled.

"I am not sure if it is a trade we need to do or what. The more I watch this team play, the more I wonder how committed they are to winning. We went out and acquired Lessard to fill an offensive void, so maybe this is something we should look at. Maybe grabbing a defender who can play or a goalie who can step up to pressure."

The Hurricanes big guns came to play against Florida, however. Junior Lessard, Ryan Getzlaf and Brandon Reid all had multiple point nights, but in the end, offense wasn't enough to win the game.

"We get running around all the time and it seems no one knows their man to cover," said veteran David Cornacchia, who was -2 in the contest. "I really have no idea how we are going to fix this, but something needs to happen. I'm getting tired of watching other teams celebrate goals."

Lightning strikes Boston, Hartigan

The skies had been bright and blue for weeks... but the Boston Bruins could see a storm approaching. Mercifully, the radar showed that it appeared to be a short thunderstorm - although anyone who has been in West Texas knows those can bring damage.

As Queen sang... "Thunderstorms and Lightning, very very frightening me!"

On Wednesday night, the Bruins arrived in Tampa Bay for the fury of a perfect storm, and took the brunt of Mother Nature - and Father Time himself, Mario Lemieux.

Lemieux, who has been on the trading block for at least a month, earned himself a hat trick against the Bruins. GM Joshua Anderson was overheard in the media box cursing repeatedly, claiming this only shows that while the Bruins are executing the team concept, a superstar can defeat them. Asked whether he would make defensive moves, Anderson stated only "maybe next time I'll send Matt Walker out there."

The Bruins offense came as Bill Guerin and Jochan Hecht continued to battle for the team lead in scoring, notching their fourteenth and fifteenth of the season, respectively. Lars Jonsson and Andy McDonald also added goals in the losing effort. McDonald added two assists to net the second game star.

Tampa Bay goon Kyle Calder bounced Matt Hartigan from the game at the 14:42 mark of the first period, injuring the winger's knee on a boarding penalty, which earned Calder an ejection. Pierre Turgeon will replace Hartigan in the lineup for the week or so he is expected to miss.

The Bruins will host Toronto in an effort to stake out the division lead tonight.

Capitals Shoot Down Ducks

Anson Carter scored a pair of goals to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on Day 60. The win ended a three-game losing skid for the Capitals and moved the team to 12-14-3 for the season.

After a scoreless first period that saw Anson Carter move to center ice, Washington struck first early in the second period. It was Carter scoring the goal, his 10th of the season, on the power play from Todd Warriner and Zigmund Palffy at 2:47. Anaheim tied things up just over six minutes later when Flinn converted from Comrie and Kvasha at 9:00.

The game picked up in the final period, and after coincidental minors at 5:35, Washington regained the lead when Carter scored his second of the game from Palffy and Cory Sarich at 6:19. Leading 2-1, Washington upped its advantage to 3-1 on Frantisek Lukes' power play goal from Patrick Marleau and Mark Eaton at 9:59. The Capitals penalty killing unit then took over, stopping the Ducks on two consecutive power plays. After the successful kills, Mikael Renberg put the game away with a goal from Andrew Ference and Sarich at 18:02.

Manny Legace stopped 20 shots to earn his 10th win of the season and improve to 10-13-1. Pasi Nurminen made 34 saves in the loss for Anaheim.

Washington returns to action on Day 61 against the Boston Bruins.

CANES DOUSE FLAMES, EXPLODE FOR 6

Carolina

In a game of seemingly little significance, the Carolina Hurricanes went to Calgary in order to take on the Flames. In a non conference game, the Canes hoped to begin a new streak and win their second in a row.

"We wanted to really show that our streak wasn't a fluke," said captain Shane Doan. "We can score goals, it has been seen all year, but lately we have struggled in that area. Tonight was a statement game for us I think."

Doan, who notched his 11th of the season as well as adding an assist, was +3 in the contest and helped set the tone physically as he also led the team in hits. Regarded lately as a defensive specialist for his contributions on the third line with fellow Canadian Olympian Kris Draper, the talented forward has stepped up recently during the Canes offensive struggles.

"He leads by example," said defenseman Jay McKee, who also had 2 points in the contest. "You know what you will get from him every game and that is a lot of sand paper and not much glitter. He is a great motivational guy and when the chips are down, it is usually him or the Fish that get the ball rolling."

With his points in the contest, Doan now has 11 goals and 11 assists and is also sitting at +11. Those numbers are good enough to put him 7th on the team in scoring.

"Maybe I should change my number," laughed Doan.

The Canes next contest is against the Columbus Blue Jackets, fresh off a victory with the Buffalo Sabres. The Jackets have two talented forwards in David Vyborny and Christian Berglund to contend with. It is quite likely that Doan and Draper will again get the call, but it would not be a shock to see the line of Wellwood, Friesen and Tucker try their hand at the defensive side of things, especially the way Doan has been responding to added offensive time.

"I take whatever I can get," said Doan. "They want me to score, I will. They want me to ht, I will. They want me to shut down someone, I will. It is all part of the game and as long as I am playing, I won't complain."

Senators Snap 9 Game Skid

The Ottawa Senators have finally snapped their 5 game losing streak as they defeated the Flyers 5-4 last night. GM Schmucky shifted the lines around placing Michael Ryder on the 2nd line with veteran Petr Nedved and moving Jere Lehtinen up to the first line with Morrison.

The player of the game was Captain Dick Tarnstrom. He had 1 goal and 2 assists, including a beautiful pass to set up Michael Ryder for the game winner! Tarnstrom was solid defensively as well finishing at a +1.

Michael Ryder fit into his spot on line two quite well as he scored the game winner and notched an assist. But the line shifting seemed to help Rico Fata more than anyone as he scored 2 big goals to keep the Senators in a close game and eventually lead them to victory.

Roman Turek was decent stopping 32 of 36 shots but was unhappy after the game, "I am being criticized for my poor play and blamed for losses but what do you expect when I get 36 shots a game! Then I play solid like last night and you are asking me if it will last? NO COMMENT!"

The Senators set off to play the surging Panthers tonight and hope to continue their longest winning streak in weeks, 1 game!

JR CANES DOWN THRASHERS

Carolina

The young guns of Carolina snuck past the Thrashers 3-2 in a tough game on the road. The young Canes got some much needed offense from two of its veterans in the win as Kirk McLeod and David Cornacchia both buried a goal.

"We can take this win and file it in the what we should be doing folder," said head coach Craig Hartsburgh. "We played a solid defensive game and didn't get running around out there like we usually do."

Canes netminder Konstantin Barulin knocked away 23 of 25 shots in the victory and was given far more help than usual.

"We were pretty much ripped apart in practice yesterday," said defenseman She Weber. "It is no secret that as a whole, we have sucked this year. Last in the league in goals against doesn't usually get a coach fired up. We have more or less been okay all season because our forwards are lights out, but we need to step it up in our own end. We can't give up four goals a game and win consistently."

Of particular note, the line of Ryan Getzlaf, Jeff Tambellini and captain Brandon Reid went -2 in the game. The trio were buzzing all night but the lack of consistent play had their coach fuming.

"That line won't be together tonight," said the coach.

The Canes take on Phoenix tonight and the new look Canes hope to continue their winning ways.

Junior Capitals Destroy Ducks

Five different players scored a pair of points to lead the Washington Junior Capitals to a 6-1 win over the Junior Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on Day 59. With the victory Washington moves to 11-15-3 for the season.

After coincidental minors early in the period, Zbynek Novak got the Capitals started with a goal from Sean Kotary and Henrik Tallinder at 3:38. Just over 5:30 later it was 2-0 as Maxim Orlov scored his first of the season from Fabien Laniel and Siarhei Kolasau. After killing off their second penalty of the game, Washington made it 3-0 on Lance Moynch's power play goal from Sean Bergenheim and Cory Urquhart at 18:46.

Anaheim raised its game in the second period, and after failing on a power play, Rybin got the Ducks on the board from Paulsson and Rogers at 8:48. The Capitals answered back less than five minutes later when Patrick O'Sullivan netted from Bergenheim and Tallinder at 13:02. Washington continued its parade to the penalty box after the goal, but the penalty killers continued to shut down the Anaheim attack and preserve the 4-1 lead.

The Capitals squashed any hope of a Ducks comeback early in the third period when Kotary scored his fifth of the season on the power play from Branko Radivojevic and Novak at 5:38. The teams traded penalties for the rest of the final period until Jakub Cutta put an exclamation point on the victory with a goal from Moynch and Igor Shadulov at 19:48.

Brad Topping made 31 saves to earn the win for Washington and improve to 7-10-2. Michal Lanicek stopped just 20 shots in the loss for Anaheim. Logan Koopmans made nine saves in relief.

The Junior Capitals return to action on Day 61 against Montreal.

Bruins ground Flyers

Jochan Hecht continued his claim-staking for team MVP tonight as he led the Bruins' continuing run in a 3-2 decision over rival Philadelphia Monday night in Boston. Hecht notched his team-high fourteenth goal and added an assist on a Martin Havlat shorthanded goal that ended up being the difference maker.

Having their best power play average of the year - fifty percent, (1 for 2), the Bruins took twenty shots on goal, compared to the Flyers nineteen.

The other Bruins' score was by Shawn McEachern on a first period powerplay. Derian Hatcher's highsticking call was the setup for the Martin Havlat-assisted goal at 18:36.

The Bruins had to come from behind as Philadelphia struck first, as Brad Leeb netted his first of the season in a 5-on-3 setup following Lars Jonnson and Sean Brown penalties.

Brian Savage pulled the game close with a goal just short of the sixteen minute mark, but that was all the Flyers could muster.

The Flyers fell to 14-16-2 on the year and "below the line" in the playoff standings. Boston has closed within one point of Toronto for the Adams Division lead at 15-4-3 and return to the road tonight to face Tampa Bay before returning home for a showdown with the Maple Leafs the following night.

Pittsburgh Pounds Junior Capitals

The Washington Junior Capitals sleepwalked through the first period and suffered the consequences, losing a 4-2 game to the Pittsburgh Junior Penguins on Day 57. The loss drops Washington to 10-15-3 for the season.

Washington managed to escape the first period tied 0-0, but the team managed just a single shot on goal. The Caps did kill two penalties in the second half of the period to keep the Penguins off the board.

The Capitals were back on the kill in the second period when they took an unlikely lead. Sean Bergenheim scored the shorthanded goal from Sean Kotary and Jakub Cutta at 7:48. Washington had a power play late in the period, but couldn't get the second goal to take control of the game.

Pittsburgh jumped on the Caps early in the final period. Pihlman scored first from Helfenstein and Gervais at 2:27 to tie the game, and just over four minutes later it was 2-1. Hollweg got the goal on the power play from Helfenstein and Pihlman. The Capitals battled back to tie the game again on Cory Urquhart's tally from Igor Shadulov and Frantisek Skladany at 8:33, but that would end the scoring for Washington. Fritsche gave Pittsburgh the lead for good with an unassisted goal at 15:57, and Fata added an insurance marker from Hollweg and Helfenstein at 18:41.

Daniel Taylor stopped 27 shots to take the loss for Washington. Brian Finley made 20 saves to earn his 10th win for Pittsburgh.

The Junior Capitals return to action on Day 59 against Anaheim.

CANES PROSPECT PICKING UP STEAM

Carolina

The Hurricanes young star in junior are starting to make a name for himself and not one commonly mentioned.

Junior Lessard has become one of the more lethal wingers in the clutch junior league. Lessard, who currently leads the league in points with 39 points in 30 games, has been absolutely on fire since his acquisition in the Scott Niedermayer deal. Lessard, a power forward and potent sniper, currently leads the league by 5 points and surprisingly has 5 games in hand on the second place Eric Staal.

"When the Canes organization acquired this kid, we figured we'd have ourselves a quality player to help bring balance to the offense," said head coach Craig Hartsburg. "What we didn’t expect was a new leader and the supposed go to guy."

The Canes youngsters all appreciate Lessard's tenacious play and his overpowering offensive skill.

"For sure he gives us a weapon," said young winger Nigel Dawes. "Junior is a guy we can look to and see what the game is all about. He hits, he scraps, he digs and he scores. I doubt anyone would argue with what he has shown on the ice this year. He is a solid player."

Since putting Lessard and Jeff Carter together, the tandem has put up big numbers. Carter, who is known as one of the better offensive centers in the league, has gelled with his new linemate.

"It has been a lot of fun," said Carter. "This is likely our last kick at the can in junior and I think we both want to make a statement before we go. A title would be nice."

Carolina has tonight off.

OIlers scouts come across Swedish Gem Free Agent

When the Oilers sent their head of scouting to Sweden they weren't sure if any success would come from it until they heard about former NHL Niclas Havelid and his intent to return to the NHL next season. Immediately the Oilers struck a deal with Havelid for 4 years. He will finish out the season playing for Sodertalje SK of the Swedish Elite League and will join the Oilers squad for training camp in this upcoming off-season. Havelid is expected to re-rate nicely with his return to the NHL and hopefully be a contender for a spot on the Oilers #1 defensive line.

Bruins censure Capitals

Red hot Boston continued their recent upswing, and Bill Guerin added to his team-leading thirteen goals of the season Bruins impeached the Capitals, 7-2, in Washington.

The Bruins improved to 8-1-1 in their last ten and 14-7-3 after opening the season 0-7. Meanwhile, the Caps are heading in the opposite direct, running 3-7-0 in their last ten games. The Capitals dropped to 2-12-2 at home on the year.

The game was knotted at two apiece through the eighth minute of the second period, before the Bruins offense opened up and scored five unanswered over the remainder of the second and the third period.

The scoring began when Martin Havlat played shorthanded, just one second after Sean Brown was whistled for an elbowing call. Interestingly, Brown also had the assist on Havlat's score.

Patrick Marleau tied the game six minutes later, for which the crowd rejoiced.

Havlat and Brown combined again for a quick goal come the second period, as Havlat took a pass from Brown and redirected it to Tim Connolly fifteen seconds into the second period. Connolly fired in a 10-footer past Peter Skudra for his eighth of the season.

A minute and a half later, Todd Warriner scored his eighth when Bryan Berard bounced a pass off the back boards to him, and he banged the short shot into the net past Raycroft. The crowd rejoiced.

Seven minutes later, the visitors made it 3-2 as Fran Kaberle got his third of the year when he banked his shot off Skudra's skate. Brian Rolston added one more in the waning seconds period to make the score 4-2.

Come the third period, it was all Bruins, though the shot sheet showed a near-even period, with the Bruins getting the 9-8 advantage. Martin Havlat scored his second of the night - eleventh of the year - at 01:19; Lars Jonsson notched a power play goal at 05:15; and Bill Guerin closed the nets for the night off a Jonsson-Hecht assist for his team leading thirteenth.

The hosts outshot the Bruins 34-28 but were on the short end of the score. A sickly power play (zero for seven) contributed to that. The Bruins were one for three.

The Bruins had two days off before they set to host the Flyers tonight, then will rest another day before touring Tampa, Florida and visiting the Lightning.

Capitals Blanked by Islanders

The Washington Capitals failed on four power play chances to lose a 2-0 decision to the New York Islanders on Day 56 and fall three games below .500. Washington is now 11-14-3 for the season and fading fast in the Wales Conference.

After a scoreless first period that saw Washington miss on two power play chances, the Islanders took control in the second. Hagman scored first from Peca and Delmore at 8:01, before Sakic netted from Hossa at 13:03. The Capitals had another chance with the extra man when Sedin went to the box for cross-checking at 18:48, but the offense couldn't get anything going.

Washington had one more chance on the power play in the final period, but solid play from the New York penalty killers kept the Capitals off the board.

Manny Legace made 29 saves to take a tough loss and fall to 9-13-1 for the season. David Aebischer stopped all 21 shots he faced to improve to 13-3-4.

The Capitals will try to get back on track on Day 60 in Anaheim against the Ducks.

Junior Capitals in Stalemate With Sabres

The Washington Junior Capitals tied the Buffalo Junior Sabres 2-2 on Day 56 for their second straight draw and fourth straight game without a loss. Washington improves to 10-14-3 with the point.

Washington jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period behind goals from Sean Kotary and Mikhail Kuleshov. Kotary scored his on the power play from Branko Radivojevic and Jakub Cutta at 7:10. Kuleshov's marker came 1:38 later from Greg Mauldin and Henrik Tallinder. The Capitals killed off two penalties later in the period and outshot Buffalo 9-4 to keep the lead going to the intermission.

Buffalo got on the board at 8:19 of the second period when Semenov scored from Locke and Gusev. Neither team scored over the last 11:41, but there was still action for the fans. Igor Shadulov dropped the gloves with Buffalo's Vagner at 11:26. The result was a draw, but it seemed to get the Sabres going. Washington took two minor penalties and a major penalty later in the period, but the penalty killers did a great job keeping Buffalo off the board.

Another penalty early in the final period proved to be the Caps' undoing as Steen scored an unassisted goal on the power play at 2:31 to tie the game. A fight later in the period between Patrick O'Sullivan and Knopp was also a draw and neither team could draw any momentum from the scrap. Once again the Washington special teams did a great job killing penalties as two more power plays in the third period and one in overtime wound up scoreless for Buffalo.

Daniel Taylor made 33 saves to improve to 4-4-1 for the Capitals. Maxime Daigneault stopped 23 shots for Buffalo.

The Junior Capitals are back on the ice on Day 57 against Pittsburgh.

CANES TAKE BITE OUT OF BIG APPLE

Carolina

In a grudge match of sorts, the Carolina Hurricanes walked into New York and looked to defeat the Rags after the Rangers snapped the 16 game undefeated streak. In the spotlight would be the play of newcomer Marian Cisar, talented winger acquired in the Kovalev deal. Cisar did not disappoint.

7 minutes into the game, captain Shane Doan buried a wicked one time slapper from the high circle off a slick feed from playmaker Cory Stillman. Stillman again made a second delicious pass 6 minutes, this time to Cisar who roofed his 8th of the season. The Canes held on in the period to take a 2-0 lead into the second.

"We came out hard this game," said Doan. "We set the tone and pretty much attacked them all game long. We needed this win, if nothing else, to make up for losing that game a week and a half ago."

The Canes came out hard in the second but Rick Nash picked up a rebound and scored for the Rangers to pull them within one. The comeback looked to be on, but Stillman had other ideas.

The talented center made a behind the net pass to Darcy Tucker, who looked to have scored, but Mike Fisher picked up the trash and buried his 10th of the season. Midway through the third, Shane Doan fired his second of the game, and 10th of the season on a carbon copy play of his first of the game. Stillman would end the game with 4 assists and Theodore would pickup the win.

"Stilly needed this game," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "I think all the talk of Kovalev not producing put a lot of extra weight on his shoulders as well and maybe it was not deserved. He's been a warrior for us all season and he is our top offensive player with the departure of Kovalev. I think he wanted to make a statement that this is his team now."

Carolina has today off.

Tampa News

(Tampa) Mario Lemieux is ready to carry the Tampa Lightning back into playoff contention and if he can stay healthy, he should do that. After another injury that saw him miss some games, he is back on his point per game pace and helping the team win 4 in a row.

"I think I can still play and god willing I will be around for another season after this one. I feel great and after the little injury to start the year I am ready to play hard and bring this team back up in the standings. " Mario stated. "I think we had some bad luck and maybe passing the torch to Hurme was a bit brisk, I think he will do fine in net. He is starting to look more comfortable and should get stronger as the season progresses. Gm Sprackman wanted to shore up the goaltending for the future and getting Kari was a great move but losing Thibault will hurt a bit now. With the age of our defence and most of the forwards and a great young goalie in net like Lehtonen, I think Gm Sprackman made the right move."

There have been many attempts to Mario in the last year but so far no one has stepped up to the plate for his services. Gm Sprackman has stated he wanted a young winger and maybe picks, depending on the younger winger. If he isn't traded, then Gm Sprackman will be just as happy, since Mario will contribute a lot to the team. Robert Svehla and Doug Weight have asked for trades but so far nothing has worked out. Again, the bargain basement shoppers have been around looking to rip the players out of Tampa but Gm Sprackman has always stated, if they don't make a good offer, then don't bother making an offer.Another player that may look for a trade is Chris Nielsen but Gm Sprackman has stated he would only listen to a really good offer for the star winger playing on the farm.

(Team Rumors)
The Lightning room has been a center of talk lately with the word Gm Sprackman may indeed be leaving the team. Rumor has him leaving to go overseas and he would be away for some time. Will he keep control of the team? Team and league officials have not commented on this but if it is true, we may get an official announcement from Gm Sprackman in the near future.

(Jr League)
The junior team has slipped in the pass month and find themselves at the bottom of the conference. Gm Sprackman submitted his list for camps and some players should see some time in specialty camps to improve their skills. Gm Sprackman has stated that even though he likes the junior league, it is a low prioeity for the team. Winning the cup is more important and will be once again.