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Friday, November 3, 2000
What we're talking about is Willis
By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell
Special to ESPN.com
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| Eastern Fodder |
He said that
"It was a nice drive. I saw about 100 deer. Unfortunately, 50 of
them were dead on the side of the road."
-- Penguins goalie Garth Snow on making the five-hour pilgrammage across Pennsylvania from the club's
affiliate in Wilkes-Barre to Pittsburgh. |
Snow |
The number
That's how many assists Washington center Adam Oates needs to reach 900 for his career. Oates scored his 1,200th career point in the Capitals' 3-3 tie with Atlanta. |
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Northeast Division Notes
As much as people were scratching their heads
at the Bruins' 0-5-4 start last year, their 3-0-1 mark thus far is astonishing for a different reason. Their power play through the four games is a whopping 9-for-32 or 28.1 percent. And that's without Paul Coffey for most of the four games. Jason Allison and Joe Thornton, as well as point man Brian Rolston, have been on fire. All four of Thornton's goals are on the man advantage.
Atlantic Division
How much does former Devils owner John
McMullen miss owning a team? Apparently not enough to bid for the Boston Red Sox. McMullen said he hadn't made any inquiries and didn't plan to, at least for right now. As much as he was entrenched in hockey in New Jersey, McMullen's roots are in baseball as the former owner of the Houston Astros -- as
well as a limited partner in the Yankees.
Southeast Division
Washington coach Ron Wilson wasn't at all happy with his troops after a 3-3 tie with Atlanta. The Capitals handed the Thrashers 11 power plays, and Atlanta scored all three of their goals on the
man advantage. Particularly ill-advised were infractions by Jan Bulis, who picked up three minors, one in each period. Before Thursday's practice, Wilson had a meeting with his team and gave them a verbal tongue lashing about discipline. Washington captain Adam
Oates referred to his team's 4-1 loss to Los Angeles in the season opener as
"a garbage effort." Oates wasn't all that happy with the tie, either.
"Last year, the way we won games was because we were a total team," he
said. "We haven't found that same feeling yet. We have to get to that
because we're not good enough to win other ways." ... With the return of goalie Olaf Kolzig, the Caps don't have anyone on IR for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
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Carolina's Shane Willis came into the year with nine NHL games to his credit. No goals, no assists, no penalty minutes.
He averaged only 5 minutes, 50 seconds of ice
time in the only two games he played last year with the Hurricanes. So, it was a
pretty extraordinary feat for the right wing to not only make the
Hurricanes' roster this season but also be on a line with left wing Sami
Kapanen and center Rod Brind'amour.
On opening night against Washington, Willis' first shot resulted in a
rebound that Kapanen buried. Then, Willis got another first after the assist
-- his first NHL goal on the power play. He added a second assist later in the
game.
Not a bad start.
The 23-year-old native of Edmonton has a cannon for a shot and terrific
speed. And it appears he's in the NHL to stay this time.
"It's been great ever since I got here," said Willis. "The coaching
staff and the veterans have shown so much patience with me and given me every
opportunity to play. Being on a line with two great players like that makes
it a little bit easier for a young guy coming in."
Willis was placed with Kapanen and Brind'amour near the end of the
exhibition season. They clicked right away.
"I got the opportunity to play with them, and we seemed to create a lot
of offensive chances in the last couple of games," said Willis. "[Coach]
Paul Maurice just kind of kept it that way at the start of the season and we
had a great first two games. I think the chemistry not only on our line but
throughout our team has been very good."
There was a time not that long ago when Willis was wondering what he
would have to do to stick in the NHL. In Cincinnati of the IHL last season, he had 35 goals and 25 assists in 80 games. He believed he could be productive at the next level. He just needed to prove it.
"I think I was a little bit more frustrated last year," he said. It was very close right down to the end,
and I did end up going down to Cincinnati. When I did get sent down, I tried
to keep the right positive attitude and go down and work on the things I
needed to work on. When you get sent down, obviously, it's for a reason.
There were things I needed to work on. ... This
year, I just feel that much stronger and more confident about my game."
Maurice has said that last year, when Willis had the puck, he would
automatically want to pass it to veteran center Ron Francis rather than fire a shot on net.
"I don't know if I was reluctant," explained Willis. "As a young guy
coming in, you try to shoot as much but you might not be scoring. This year,
I've been shooting a lot more and the puck has been going in for me and that
has helped build my confidence."
Only two games into the year, Willis said it was hard to say if his
expectations for himself are being exceeded. He'll evaluate sometime farther down the road.
"I'm very happy with the way I've been playing and the chances that
I've gotten," he said. "The points I've gotten in the first two games have
been good but there are going to be nights when things don't go your way and
the puck doesn't bounce your way and hopefully you can do other things to
help the hockey club out. The players in this league are a lot smarter in the
way they make the plays and just where they're going to take their chances
and where they're not. Just using your head a lot more in the NHL is a big
thing as well."
Inside the locker room: Playing hurt
Florida forward Todd Simpson has been playing
with a broken right big toe suffered when he was struck during a preseason
game against Columbus two weeks ago. The culprit was rocket-launcher Geoff
Sanderson, who has a cannon for a shot.
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe covers the Eastern Conference for ESPN.com.
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ALSO SEE
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NHL West: Bourque in back seat?
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