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Friday, November 3, 2000
Bourque likes Avs' chances
By Mike Heika
Special to ESPN.com
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| Western Fodder |
He said that
"I was with Quebec for a long time when things were miserable, and then I saw things turn around. We're going in the right direction here. The club is committed to winning, and I want to be a part of it."
-- Sharks captain Owen Nolan after signing a five-year contract. |
Nolan |
The number
The number of games Brett Hull needs to score 700 goals if he continues to score at the .404 goals a game pace that he has averaged over the past three regular seasons. Hull's career scoring average is .618. He is eighth all-time with 614 goals and would need three seasons to play 220 games. |
220 |
Northwest Division Notes
The best sign for the Avs is the play of their third line of Stephane Yelle, Shjon Podein and Dan Hinote. If the Avalanche can get scoring from three lines, they'll be tough to stop. ... The Oilers need to play the Red Wings more often. Edmonton started the season with two victories over Detroit as Tommy Salo outplayed Chris Osgood to the tune of a .924 save percentage to .880 for Osgood. ... Now that the Flames signed Marc Savard, expect D Derek Morris to follow quickly.
Central Division
The Blues' best discovery during their recent bout with injuries on defense is the play of 28-year-old newcomer Alexander Khavanov. ... Blues winger Scott Young, off to the best start of his career with six goals in four games, had six goals in six playoff games last season, meaning he has 12 goals over his past 10 games. ... The Wild tied the Flyers, 3-3, in their first home game. Minnesota native Darby Hendrickson scored the first Wild goal at Xcel Energy Center. ... New Blackhawks coach Alpo Suhonen is not a screamer. But that works well for him. "He raised his voice just a little bit (during a 5-3 win over Columbus), and it caught me off-guard," Hawks captain Tony Amonte said.
Pacific Division
The Coyotes might have found the perfect complement to Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick. Second-year forward Mika Alatalo has held his own on a line playing with what Roenick calls, "two big-headed players." ... Luc Robitaille became only the second player in Kings history to score 1,000 points for the Kings. ... Stars coach Ken Hitchcock called his team out and asked for more effort from his impact players. "The battles that we're having with the players are some of the familiar battles that we had last year," Hitchcock said. "Sometimes, you want to find an easier way to play the game of hockey. But we know how play with success, and it's a lot of hard work."
Injury news
Anaheim C Steve Rucchin (broken bone in wrist) is expected to return to practice with the team and could join the team on a five-game road trip starting Saturday in New Jersey. ... Colorado D Alexei Gusarov (bruised foot) is practicing, but is not yet ready to play. ... Los Angeles G Stephane Fiset (sprained left knee) is listed as "week to week," but has not lost any ground in his race to be the No. 1 goalie. He's expected to get the nod as soon as he's healthy. ... Blues Ds Marc Bergevin (fractured thumb) and Todd Reirden (broken foot) are not expected back soon. ... Phoenix's Juha Ylonen (bruised shoulder) is ready to return to the lineup, but the Coyotes don't want to break up the line of Landon Wilson, Brad May and rookie Wyatt Smith.
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Ray Bourque is flying under the radar this season -- and that's just fine with him.
While the Avalanche are enveloped in the race to get goalie Patrick Roy the most wins in league history, Bourque has become "just another player," as he puts it.
Of course, the future Hall of Famer, who is battling to become the highest scoring defenseman in NHL history, could never be considered average. But he isn't a traveling press conference the way he was last year after being traded from a 21-year relationship with the Bruins in a March trade deadline deal.
The headlines aren't dominated by the theme of winning that first Stanley Cup for one of the greatest players in league history -- and that has made for a nice start to this season, Bourque said.
"It's a big difference," Bourque said. "Everybody knows me, and I know everybody. I think it's a lot easier to get ready for the season. It's a lot easier to understand the system and what we're trying to accomplish. I have my family with me. Everything is easier."
Bourque had an amazing finish to the 1999-2000 season. He scored 14 points in the final 14 games and helped lead the Avalanche to the Western Conference finals. But along the way, he never seemed really comfortable. His No. 77 never looked exactly right in maroon and blue.
This year, there's no doubt that Bourque is a member of the Avalanche. He's a veteran in the locker room and now calls Denver home. And he was ready to attack the season from training camp on, mainly because Avs management took care of his signing early. In fact, the Avs took care of all of its signings in a relatively timely manner.
The Avalanche know that last season's roller-coaster ride produced a team that was anything but consistent, and that cost the them valuable points during the season -- and consequently it cost important playoff seeding.
And once Bourque was acquired, the circus started.
This year, the plan is quiet consistency.
"It was just so different last year," said Dave Reid, who played with Bourque in Boston from 1991-96. "We, as players, were all saying that everyone wanted to win 'with' Ray and not 'for' Ray. But that didn't really come across in the playoffs. The whole push was win it 'for' Ray. This year, I think with Ray here the whole season, it's more of a team thing."
And that's exactly the way Bourque wants it. He has never been one to demand the spotlight, and he's happy to help Roy get the goal that he wants.
"I just think things are moving at a completely different pace this year," he said. "Last year in Boston wasn't a good year for me. I struggled. This year, I feel good right from the start"
Even if that means the Avalanche have to deal with the pressure of being "the team to watch."
"The expectations are very high here, and that's a good thing," Bourque said.
"I think everyone knows when they're playing for a good team and when they're not. And I think a lot of guys on this team understand that the window of opportunity is open right now, and it won't always be. The messages are being sent all over the organization. The signs are that we have the ability to have a great season and we need to have a great season."
In the locker room: Peaceful Kingdom
The Kings are off to a fast start in large part because of the work of coach Andy Murray. The man who jokes that his greatest legacy is that he jumped from high school to the NHL in one season, played a major role in smoothing the Rob Blake captaincy issue. When Blake turned in the "C" after a contract extension battle, Murray had a quiet meeting with Blake and assured him he was the one and only leader of the team as long as he was there. Blake's contract -- or lack thereof -- is still a matter of contention. But the Kings are moving on as if it's no problem at all. With the influx of Mathieu Schneider on the blue line, Blake is playing better than ever. And while that certainly makes him a more tradeable commodity, it also is buying him immense respect in the locker room. Now, the Kings are starting to pull together because Murray is showing faith in Blake, and Blake is delivering with strong play on the ice. While dollars and cents will eventually settle this dispute, the Kings have done a great job of making the best of a bad situation.
Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News covers the Western Conference for ESPN.com.
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