Inside The NHL by Ivan Tchechankov

STARS ARE FALLING IN THE PACIFIC

The Phoenix Coyotes (black), pictured here against the Detroit Red Wings, are in the most competitive division in the NHL.

A month and a half after the start of the 83rd NHL regular season the defending Stanley Cup champions DALLAS STARS were in the last place of the Pacific Division. Not so long ago this division wasn't known as being DEEP.

Times have changed and these days you must be aware not only of drowning, but also of the SHARKS, DUCKS, COYOTES, and KINGS. The Kings were in second place and are emerging as a power in the division. The STARS are now aware of that.

At the time of this writing the Stars had 8-8-3 record .500% - good for third place in every other division, excluding the Northeast. In the PACIFIC it's close, but not enough.

You wonder why? The LOS ANGELES KINGS (12-5-4) and SAN JOSE SHARKS (13-9-2-1) were ranked first and second in the divison's standings. Along with Detroit they had the leagues best records.

The PHOENIX COYOTES (11-6-3) and the MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM (10-9-2-) were in the top 8-playoff spots in the Western Conference. It's the most competitive place in the NHL map and for no surprise only the Kings had a winning record within the division (2-1-0). The Ducks were 2-3-0. Three teams were tied with 3-3-0 division records.

"I've never seen all the Californian teams in such a great shape," said Pittsburgh Penguins captain JAROMIR JAGR on his team recent trip to California. "Sometimes it was the Kings, other time the Sharks or the Ducks, but now they are all rolling....And then you have Phoenix and Dallas - this is the toughest division!"

There is something more behind the facts and that gives a better perspective for the Stars future. For starters it's HISTORY.

A slow start of the teams that played in the previous season's Stanley Cup Finals is common practice in this decade. Sometimes it continues throughout the entire season. In the 1995-96 season the NEW JERSEY DEVILS finished 6th (37-33-12) in the former Atlantic division and didn't qualify for post-season play a year after celebrating their Stanley Cup triumph.

WAYNE GRETZKY led the KINGS to the Finals in 1993, but lost. A four year streak followed without the Kings participating in a playoff game.

Most recently the WASHINGTON CAPITALS missed the last seasons playoffs after reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998.

INJURIES are a major factor in who will make the playoffs. This year the Stars season started out like an ALFRED HITCHCOCK styled movie. Against the MIGHTY DUCKS in the second game of the season, the Stars MIKE MODANO and DARRYL SYDOR were hurt in ugly suspension-drawing incidents.

The NIGHTMARES began for Dallas coach KEN HITCHCOCK. Modano was knocked UNCONSCIOUS, when he was checked head-first into the boards by Anaheim defenseman Ruslan Salei, after scoring a goal and celebrating it. Modano was down for 6-7 minutes before his neck was stabilized.

"It was DISGUSTINGLY cheap. The hit was something far worse than COWARDLY. I think it's just a matter of time before somebody is seriously hurt or is KILLED on a play like that," Stars right wing BRETT HULL said.

Salei was suspended 10 games, Jim McKenzie received a 4 game suspension for PUMMELING Sydor.

Ducks defenseman Pascal Trepanier was also suspended for five games for his hit on JOE NIEWENDYK, the Stars best goal scorer in the 1999 Playoffs. Modano and Sydor missed only three games, but their return to the line-up was a start of another series of DISASTERS.

The October 13th game against the SHARKS marked the return of right winger GRANT MARSHALL, who had been sidelined because of a torn right groin muscle. In this game he was injured again with a tear in his left GROIN MUSCLE.

Three days later JERE LEHTINEN, a two-time SELKE AWARD winner as the NHL's top defensive forward, fractured his ANKLE. Also RICHARD MATVICHUK, one of the best shot-blockers in the game, injured his KNEE and had an ARTHROSCOPIC SURGERY to take care of loose cartilage.

More Stars injury woes include defenseman SHAWN CHAMBERS (out three months with knee injury) and center BRIAN SKRUDLAND (out 3-4 weeks with chest contusion). They were already on the INJURY LIST and Sydor was sidelined again.

"What we're trying to do is get some of our older players to carry the new players," Hitchcock told the Dallas Morning News. "Hopefully, some of the leaders can carry the weight and keep us afloat until people start coming back into the lineup," The Stars have played with seven rookies this season. That ties them with the expansion franchise ATLANTA TRASHERS and the BUFFALO SABRES for most rookies used this season. The Sabers were the Stars opponent in last seasons Stanley Cup finals.

THE SABRES ARE NOT SHARP. Remember your history lesson? The Sabres started the season with 7 games WINLESS streak (0-5-2) and tied their club record for WORST start from 1990-91. DOMINIK HASEK, the BEST GOALIE in the league (5 time Vezina Trophy-winner in the last 6 years and two times MVP) was struggling between the pipes with his FORM and with his GROIN.

Hasek was benched by Coach LINDY RUFF for game #8. Hasek then witnessed the heroics of the rookie MARTIN BIRON, earn the team's first W for the season. When Hasek returned he won only one game. He has since been placed on the injured list and there is now a question if he'll COME BACK AGAIN!

The Dominator [Hasek] has a 90% TEAR in his right groin and will be out for months. The possibility exists that he may never play again this season. He announced that this would be his last season before the injury occurred. Now he may not want to go through the long and PAINFUL rehabilitation.

Hasek's stats for the season are 1-4-1, 3.03 goal-against average and .901 save percentage. Entering this season his career stats are: 195-139-62, 2.26 and .926! Amazingly the Sabres were able to REGROUP behind Biron and won 6 of 7 consecutive games with the young goaltender stopping the opposition. Buffalo moved up to 6th place in the Eastern Conference with 8-10-2.

Two teams from the ORIGINAL SIX had a start, that they want to forget A.S.A.P. Before winning for the first time BOSTON BRUINS were 0-5-4 and CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS were 0-4-4. Both teams tied the clubs' record for most winless games to start the regular season. The Bruins had similar experience in 1964-65 and the Hawks in 1953-54. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS went one step ahead - they broke the team record, after going 0-5-1 in the first 6 games of the season. But then with MARK RECCHI as the main pilot, they went HIGH up in the SKY and in the standings - first place in the Atlantic Division with 10-7-2-1.

16 - JAGR'S NEW FATAL NUMBER. Two times during his career Penguins leader JAROMIR JAGR had 13-game points scoring streaks. Now he knows that maybe number 16 it's more fatal to him.

The CZECH had a point in every Penguins' game from the start of the new season till game #16 against Buffalo on November 16th! He suffered a GROIN INJURY in the first period just after PITTSBURGH scored three goals in a 3:04 span. Jagr didn't return to the ice, the STREAK was over, but his team won 3:2.

At one point during the streak (October 16 - November 4) the right winger had a score or an assist on 15 consecutive goals by his team! He wasn't there for #16, but anyway… it was a NEW NHL RECORD.

The old one - point on 14 goals in a row - was set in January (17-25), 1989 by MARIO LEMIEUX, the new owner of the Penguins.

Jagr is leading the NHL in scoring with 33 points, 14 goals and 19 assists in 16 games. Only Russian ALEXANDER SELIVANOV (Edmonton) and OWEN NOLAN (San Jose), who was born in Belfast, Ireland, but represents Canada, have the same goals total as Jagr - 14. MARK RECCHI is second in the assist category with 18.

TRIVIA QUESTION: Who is the last Canada-representing player, other than MARIO LEMIEUX and WAYNE GRETZKY, to finish the NHL regular season with most goals scored?

MONEY FOR NOTHING AND LOSERS FOR FREE. Feel sorry for the hockey fans in the Big Apple? You have to! They lost THE GREAT ONE at the end of last season, when GRETZKY retired and decided to return to California.

The local MEDIA, RANGERS management and players made his decision easier, when they showed their LOOSING instinct and STUPIDITY.

Number 99 played the whole season with NECK injury, but was STILL the team's top scorer. In March he was sidelined by the doctors and the team won some games....Guess what? Someone in the locker room said that THEY are playing better without him.

Maybe it was a JOKE, but it went out and the media started to blow the BALLOON. It became SERIOUS. Then you have the MANAGEMENT. They were not willing to trade for CAPABLE players like THEO FLEURY and MARK RECCHI, when Gretzky was still around. It's not about the money and the salary cap, because they obtained PETER NEDVED and paid him a LOT.

This summer the Rangers were shopping like it's the end of the WORLD and made all other teams crazy with their offers.

Six free agents signed with the team - forwards FLEURY, VALERI KAMENSKY and TIM TAYLOR, defencemen SYLVAIN LEFEBVRE and STEPHANE QUINTAL and goaltender KIRK MCLEAN.

And now the results: The team with the NHL-record $58,8 MILLION PAYROLL is next-to-last in the Atlantic Division, ahead of the financial-troubled and hopeless NEW YORK ISLANDERS. The Rangers are 6-11-3 and last in the POWER PLAY ranking with 6.3% (5 from 79). The league average is 17.4!

That it isn't everything. They scored only 27 goals in the first 15 games. THE POWER-less RANGERS don't have a goal with a man advantage on the ROAD, despite having 35 opportunities! On the road their PENALTY KILLING is terrible - 69,2% (average 82,3), at their home - The Madison Square Garden - the crowd wants to KILL THEM and to see Coach John Muckler FIRED!

NEW RULES. There is a good chance that you can get CONFUSED watching a hockey game if you're not familiar with some of the rule changes that NHL made for this season.

DALLAS won the Stanley Cup with a controversial goal, scored by Brett Hull, who was in-and-out of the goal crease during the play. Few days later the CREASE RULE was revised to implement a "no harm, no foul, no video review" standard. An attacking player's position, whether inside or outside the crease, does not, itself, determine whether a goal should be allowed or disallowed.

The ON-ICE JUDGEMENT of the referee(s) - instead of VIDEO REVIEW - will determine if a goal is "good" or not. "There may be some argument on the ice for 15-20 seconds, but then they ACCEPT it as part of the game, as the call of the referee - his judgment - and on we go.

COLIN CAMPBELL is the NHL executive vice president and director of hockey operations.

He recently said, "It was really TOUGH for the players, teams, management and coaches to accept an individual upstairs using a video screen, who is not a referee trained to show important judgement into the game, make a decision that resulted in the game going one way or the other."

Don't be surprise if you see a "FOUR-ON-FOUR" situation in a regular-season overtime, despite having no penalized players on either team. It's the NEW FORMAT for the five-minute SUDDEN DEATH overtime, when the score is tied after three periods.

In the event that penalties dictate that one team has a two-man advantage, the penalized team plays with three skaters, while the team with the advantage adds a fifth skater.

The most confusing part of it all is the new look of the STANDINGS. There is one new column: REGULATION TIE. This makes a team's record consist of four numbers, like W-L-T-RT or 8-9-2-1.

By the new rules each team will be awarded with ONE POINT in the regulation time and the team scoring in overtime will receive one ADDITIONAL point and W for the standings. The loosing site will have a RT, but also one more L.....and this makes the things kind of difficult to understand.

Philadelphia's coach ROGER NEILSON is one of the critics. "It's ridiculous," he said. "The whole meaning of the new rule was that you're not LOOSING the game if the score is tied after regulation time. Now you can have more L then W in the standings, but be above .500.

"It doesn't make SENSE and everybody is confused - some of the broadcasters don't use the new record format, some do and the FANS don't know what they are talking about. I sent a letter to GARY BETTMAN (NHL Commissioner) and I'm waiting for his reaction. I think they will change the look of the standings",

TRIVIA ANSWER: MIKE BOSSY had 68 goals in 1980-81, more than anybody in the league this season Gretzky led the NHL in this category five times (1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85 and 1986-87). Mario Lemieux took charge after the Great One in (1987-88, 1988-89 and 1995-96).

Canada-born BRETT HULL was the top goal-scorer for three seasons in a row (1989-92), but he played for team USA in different international competitions. In 5 of the last 7 regular seasons the leader(s) was from Europe - the flying Finn TEEMU SELANNE (1992-93, 1997-98, 1998-99), the Russians ALEXANDER MOGILNY (1992-93) and PAVEL BURE (1993-94) and the Slovak PETER BONDRA (1994-95, 1997-98).

Ivan Tchechankov can be reached at his e-mail address: ivan_chesh@hotmail.com