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Sunday, February 4, 2001
Former Oilers duo still slick together
By Brian A. Shactman
ESPN.com
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The Colorado locals had a pretty good day. Milan Hejduk and Peter Forsberg scored. Ray Bourque was a plus-3. And Patrick Roy allowed what ended up looking like a paltry three goals in the first period. But one of those goals was scored by Forsberg, who scored on Roy for the first time -- outside of practice, that is. "I thought, when he scored, 'I won't hear the end of that,'" Roy said afterward. "I asked him at the end if he kept the puck, the first goal against me, but no."
Of course, the All-Star Game has become an offensive exhibition -- in the goal-scoring sense -- but it's a two-way street for defensemen. That's why a few plus-minus numbers were a bit mind-boggling. Scott Niedermayer and his Devils teammate Scott Stevens were plus-5, while Brian Leetch was a lowly minus-6 -- for the winning team! -- and Ed Jovanovski was minus-5.
Since the Olympics have been a relatively consistent theme all weekend, it's interesting to note a few other single-nation forward lines besides Amonte-Weight-Guerin. The World team threw out Russians Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure. No real need to expand on their abilities. And finally, the Canadian line of Paul Kariya, Joe Sakic and Theo Fleury might be undersized, but they had the most jump of any unit out there; and with the Olympic-size ice sheet, Wayne Gretzky could opt to combine that kind of speed. "We definitely talked about it," said Sakic of the potential mighty-might Canadian line. "We had a lot of fun out there."
Simon Gagne's encounter with Mario Lemieux went beyond their side-by-side locker stalls. Gagne netted his first All-Star goal at 5:16 of the third period with assists from his boyhood idol and his other linemate, Brett Hull. When Lemieux realized that Gagne didn't have the puck, he told the linesman it was still in the net. After some searching the official found it wedged behind the goal-cam. "I know exactly how he felt," said Lemieux of Gagne's All-Star experience. "To be in the same room with Ray Bourque and all these great players he watched when he was a little boy is special. You know, these games are games you remember for the rest of your life."
Kovalev has a definite sense of hockey nostalgia. He saves all his game jerseys from tournaments and important games. They all hang in his parents' home in Tolitti, Russia. The collection ranges all the way from pee wees to present, and his first NHL All-Star jersey will soon be on its way.
Was Gretzky surprised that Lemieux came back? "I've got to say, honestly, I was surprised," he said. "My wife Janet told me a long time ago, 'Don't be surprised if Mario came back,' and she was right again."
ESPN.com's Sherry Skalko contributed to this report.
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DENVER -- Together again.
During the first six weeks of this NHL season, Doug Weight and Bill Guerin -- along with Ryan Smyth -- were part of the league's best offensive line with the Oilers.
Both Weight and Guerin were among the top 10 in scoring, and life was great for the rising American stars.
But they were separated in mid-November when the Oilers dealt Guerin to Boston in exchange for Anson Carter, Boston's second-round draft pick in 2001, and a choice of switching first-rounders with the Bruins in 2001 or 2002.
More than two months later, they were back on the same line in Sunday's All-Star Game -- Tony Amonte was on Weight's other wing. And man, they haven't missed a beat. Guerin scored a hat trick -- just the second of his career -- and totaled five points en route to becoming the first player to win MVP honors in his initial All-Star appearance. All Weight did was score a goal and add three assists.
And for both, it was an incredible reunion, albeit somewhat bittersweet.
"We started to roll," said Guerin upon reflecting on the early part of the season in Edmonton. "The transition was tough because I didn't expect it and didn't want to leave. But the people in Boston made me feel welcome, and I was lucky enough to land with another great center (Jason Allison)."
"It was very special," said Weight about the reunion. "Billy's a great friend of mine, and after you've been playing with a guy for a while, you know where each other are going to be. With that, you need great chemistry as players. Billy's a straight up-and-down winger who is fast as heck."
Guerin continued to wear that "awe-shucks" look on his face that could be seen after each of his three goals. First-time All-Star. Fastest skater. Five-point night. All-Star MVP. Limemate with his best friend.
It's not as if the two have struggled without each other, although Guerin no longer sits among the league's top-10 point-getters. He still has 27 goals, which is the fourth-highest total in the league. Weight leads the entire NHL with 46 assists and is seventh overall in points.
"He's so gifted," Guerin said of Weight. "He's so unselfish. All you have to do is get open and go to the net."
The play of the Amonte-Weight-Guerin line sparked a slew of inquiries about the trio as a possibility in the next Olympics. A combined 13 points between the three of them will do that. All three are close off the ice and would welcome the opportunity.
"Oh sure. That would be awesome," said Guerin. In past international play, Guerin has been grouped with Mike Modano and Keith Tkachuk. "Tony and Doug are two of the most talented players in the league."
Weight tempered his enthusiasm a little because he didn't want to act as if his name on the Olympics roster was a foregone conclusion.
"Hopefully, we'll all be a part of it."
Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com. He can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com.
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