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Wednesday, October 4, 2000
Stars-Avalanche renew rivalry in opener
Associated Press
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Expansion, goalie Patrick Roy's run at the record book and Mark
Messier's return to the New York Rangers will be on display when
the curtain rises on the NHL's 2000-01 season.
|  | | Patrick Roy needs four victories to become the NHL's leader in career victories. |
But the first puck of the season drops in Dallas -- the same
place last season came to a sudden end.
Less than four months after New Jersey's Jason Arnott beat
Dallas goalie Ed Belfour in double overtime to win the Stanley Cup,
Reunion Arena welcomes the Colorado Avalanche, the team the Stars
beat to advance to the finals the last two seasons.
"There is a real respect level between the teams," Dallas
coach Ken Hitchcock said Tuesday. "There is a really intense
individual competition."
The Stars and Avalanche, who battled through consecutive
seven-game Western Conference finals, will play the NHL opener
Wednesday night -- the only game on the schedule.
"Their team is the best so far out of the gate," Hitchcock
said of the Avalanche. "They're already in midseason form."
Wednesday's opener starts a season in which Minnesota and
Columbus join the league and Messier comes back to the Rangers.
The NHL resumes a regular schedule on Thursday, with Ottawa at
Boston, Chicago at Buffalo, Vancouver at Philadelphia, Detroit at
Calgary and St. Louis at Phoenix. All 30 teams, including expansion
clubs Columbus and Minnesota, will play by Saturday.
Minnesota is back in the league for the first time since the
North Stars packed for Dallas after the 1992-93 season. The Wild
start with a two-game road trip that will take them to Anaheim on
Friday and Phoenix on Saturday. Minnesota will play its first home
game on Oct. 11 against Philadelphia.
The Blue Jackets play their first game Saturday night when the
Chicago Blackhawks come to Columbus.
The additions of Minnesota and Columbus conclude the latest
round of expansion, which also brought Atlanta and Nashville into
the league in the past two seasons. Since the first expansion in
1967, the NHL has grown from the "Original Six" franchises to 30.
While commissioner Gary Bettman welcomes Minnesota back, New
York will cheer the return of Messier to the Rangers when they play
their home opener Oct. 11. Just as when Messier first came to New
York, the Rangers will be on the road for a game (Saturday at
Atlanta) before No. 11 can pull on his home white jersey.
Arnott's sudden-death goal in Game 6 of the Cup finals ended
Dallas' hope of repeating as league champion. The Devils begin
their bid for two straight titles when they raise their
championship banner at home against the Montreal Canadiens, owners
of 23 Stanley Cups, on Friday night.
Nashville and Pittsburgh open with a two-game series in Japan on
Friday and Saturday at midnight (EDT).
Seven new coaches will begin new jobs this week: Alpo Suhonen
(Chicago), Don Hay (Calgary), Dave King (Columbus), Craig MacTavish
(Edmonton), Jacques Lemaire (Minnesota), Ron Low (Rangers) and Ivan
Hlinka (Pittsburgh).
The Boston Bruins will open a season without Ray Bourque for the
first time since he was a rookie in 1979. Bourque re-signed with
the Avalanche after he was dealt by the Bruins late last season so
he could have a chance to win his first championship ring.
The Avalanche start a countdown on opening night as Roy needs
only four victories to reach 448 and break Terry Sawchuk's career
victory record.
"The wins is one thing," Hitchcock said, "but Patrick has
done it in such a short period of time. The winning percentage is
amazing.
"He's played on winning teams, but you can't get to that level
without winning games on your own."
The NHL will use the two-referee system in all 1,230 games this
season, but linesmen no longer will call double-minor, instigator
or checking-from-behind penalties.
"We have revamped our standards of enforcement for slashing and
obstruction," Bettman said. "We have heightened our commitment to
reducing hits to the head and hits from behind."
And gone is the regulation tie, but in name only. A point will
still be earned for reaching overtime, a loss in the extra
five-minute session will simply be known as an overtime loss.
"We have revised the standings format, so hopefully it is more
fan-friendly," Bettman said. "We did a lot of fine-tuning over
the summer."
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