Nhl Eastern Conference

Sporting News, The, Jan 1, 2001 by Paul Grant

WHO'S HOT

Hot team, hot coach, hot player. Daymond Langkow has benefited from new Flyers coach Bill Barber's up-tempo style of play. Playing between Rick Tocchet and Simon Gagne, Langkow was a big reason the Flyers were 3-0-3 under Barber. His faceoff winning percentage needed fudging, but in his last four games, heading into last Saturday, Langkow had two goals and eight assists and was plus-8.

WHO'S NOT

Roberto Luongo was so cold in Florida, he was sent to Louisville to warm up. In his first game in the AHL, he was shelled 6-0 and felt right at home--he had little support. Luongo went 1-2 in the AHL but heading into last Friday's action, he hasn't played in the NHL since December 9, when he allowed three goals on 21 shots vs. the Avs. His save percentage in the two games before the demotion was .857.

CHALKDUST

It was a meeting of opposites in Manhattan last week. Many wanted to see how the Rangers, with the NHL's most prolific power-play unit, would stack up against the Blues and their league-best penalty-killing unit. It also was a matchup of East vs, West, with much pride on the line. As usual, West proved best. The Rangers fired blanks in six power-play opportunities, and the Blues stormed away with a 6-3 win. New York cabbies protested by honking their horns and cursing.

GAME OF THE WEEK

This Sunday game is a reunion for any players. The Leafs, like the Flyers, treat the Lightning as an exclusive trading partner, so you'll see lots of ex-Leafs in the Lightning lineup. Hoping to show their old team that life on the sandy beaches of Florida is dam better than camping out on the concrete shores of Lake Ontario are Todd Warriner, Fredrik Modin and Mike Jonhson. It's also a chance to see Petr Svoboda (Bolts) play opposite Petr Svoboda (Leafs).

STICKS & STONES

Penguins' owner/center Mario Lemieux last week after his first practice of 2000-01: "Everybody is going to have to be a little bit patient after three years of my not competing. I'm not going to step on the ice and score five or six points in my first game. I just have to be patient, and everything will work out," Remember that when he scores five or six points in his first game.

DROPPINGS THE GLOVES

"We realize that our division isn't the strongest in the league. We really don't gouge ourselves on how we do in our division. We gauge ourselves on how we do against the rest of the Eastern Conference."

--Caps' Olaf Kolzig