Keen on Keenan: Trying to figure out the leading National Hockey League Coach of the Year candidates at this time of the season is tricky.
But the Blackhawks` Mike Keenan, winner of the award in 1985 with Philadelphia, undoubtedly is one of the coaches in the running at the All-Star break.
He may well be leader of the pack.
Where will his stiffest competition come from? Interestingly, Bob Murdoch could provide his strongest challenge. Murdoch was fired by the Hawks to make room for Keenan last season.
Now, Murdoch`s Jets have done so well in his first season with them that they are ahead of the Los Angeles Kings in the Smythe Division.
Other names to consider: the Islanders` Al Arbour, Toronto`s Doug Carpenter, Buffalo`s Rick Dudley and Boston`s Mike Milbury. If either Pittsburgh or New Jersey has a strong finish, the Penguins` Craig Patrick and the Devils` John Cuniff will jump into the wide-open race.
– A nasty streak: The All-Star Game is Sunday in Pittsburgh, the city Mario Lemieux has enthralled with a 35-point scoring streak heading into the break. But Lemieux has difficulty gaining support among his peers because of certain quarrelsome actions on the ice, a nasty streak, if you will.
Example: After a recent game against Winnipeg, Murdoch called for a suspension to be slapped on Lemieux. Can you imagine anyone doing that if Wayne Gretzky was involved? Anyway, it seems Lemieux fired a puck at the Jets` bench, aiming for defenseman Peter Taglianetti, who had been roughing up Lemieux all night. When Taglianetti ducked, the puck hit trainer Jim Ramsay in the groin.
”Lemieux should be suspended for deliberately trying to injure,”
Murdoch said. ”If a guy wasn`t watching, the puck could have hit him in the eye and ended his career.”
– Isle cruising: Last season, the Islanders had 61 points, tying them with Quebec for the lowest total in the NHL. While the Nordiques remain a sad joke, the Islanders were the hottest club at the break.
With Friday night`s victory in Winnipeg, they have won nine straight and 18 of their last 22.
”We`re the team to beat,” boasted winger Randy Wood. ”We have more of a cocky attitude now.”
Former Hawks defenseman Gary Nylund praised the handling he`s received from the sage Arbour. ”I liked what Arbour told me when I came here. He took me aside and said, `Look, you`re no (Bobby) Orr and you`re no (Denis) Potvin. So just be what you are, a defense player. Don`t worry about goals and assists.` I love it.”
– The flower opens: At 16, center Eric Lindros is touted as the best hope the NHL has in the near future to feature another player with talents comparable to those of Gretzky and Lemieux.
Lindros played his first Ontario Hockey League game last week with Oshawa and made his biggest impression with five bruising checks. At 6 feet 4 inches and 220 pounds, Lindros packs a punch.
He is already a marketable item in Canada. At his OHL debut last week, ticket scalpers charged $20 for a $6.50 seat, and Lindros T-shirts were selling for $12.
– A deal in the works? Maybe there is substance to reports the Hawks remain interested in Quebec left wing Michel Goulet, though his suspect defensive play leaves some wondering if the Hawks would be sending its hard-working team the wrong message by trading for the dangerous scorer.
”Looks like the scene is being set (for a trade),” Goulet said.
”Something is going to happen. I`m convinced. I`m feeling less and less useful (to Quebec).
”We had a good club here and it crumbled like a house of cards. And to hear people talk, it was my fault. Do you think the Nordiques would win 10 in a row if I left?”
– The Rat sneaks no more: With last week`s trade between Boston and Philadelphia, Ken ”Rat” Linseman returned to the Flyers, for whom he played in 1978-82. Paul Holmgren, now Philly`s coach, played with Linseman and remembered him as a distant sort.
”He was very difficult to talk to to-a rebel, a nomad. I roomed with him a lot,” Holmgren said. ”He was different.
”But he`s matured. He`s got a wife and family now. He`s straight as an arrow off the ice.”
– Choosing sides: Calgary`s Tim Hunter is weary of hearing Gretzky talk about how fighting must be taken out of the NHL.
”I don`t care how much press he gets,” Hunter said. ”I don`t think it should change because of Gretzky.
”It`s been part of the game for a long time, and it`s going to be part of the game for a long time to come.”
