SI.com's David Vecsey tackles three issues from around the league:

1	Did the fire wagon run out of gas?

Todd Bertuzzi Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images/NHLI Remember when the season was a few weeks old and everybody was trumpeting the return of old-time offensive hockey? The crackdown on obstruction was supposed to test the limits of red light bulbs in NHL rinks across the continent. But something funny happened on the way to the offensive orgy. In other words, the overall numbers don't look all that different from last year to this year. There were 6,442 goals scored in 2001-02. With about a week left in this season, there have been 6,097 goals scored. Last year, Jarome Iginla led the league with 52 goals, making him the only player to crack the 50 mark. This year, Vancouver teammates Todd Bertuzzi (46 goals) and Markus Naslund (45) are running 1-2 in the league, but have only five games left to break 50. In fact, a look at the league leaders shows that we're likely to see the same number of 40-goal men (five) and a similar number of 30-goal men (32 last year to 24 right now with 10 others with between 27-29). So how do we explain this? Bertuzzi, featured on the league's teleconference on Wednesday, put it in the simplest terms: You can open up the ice all you want, but it's not going to put the puck in the net for you. "It's not easy to score goals," he said. "It's tough nowadays. The goaltenders are so good. You look at them, 90 percent of them are so big, they cover so much room. Scoring goals is tough. Like last year when Jarome went on his tear, it was quite amazing to watch. This year it's just as tough. "I think for myself, I know I'm in a position to get a lot of ice time, be put in situations to score, all that. I think playing in the West is a little bit more wide open than it is in the East. I think when we went to the East, we learned that a little bit, playing Philadelphia and teams like that. It's a little bit more tight checking. No, it's tough to score in the league. To get your goals, you've got to work extremely hard." Should Bertuzzi and Naslund finish 1-2 in the league, it would be a rare feat. Since the league went from six teams to 12 in 1967-68, teammates have finished 1-2 in goals only five times. Mario Lemieux (69), Jaromir Jagr (62), Pit., 1995-96 Wayne Gretzky (73), Jari Kurri (71), Edm., 1984-85 Steve Shutt (60), Guy Lafleur (56), Mtl., 1976-77 Phil Esposito (76), Johnny Bucyk (51), Bos., 1970-71 Bobby Hull (44), Stan Mikita (40), Chi., 1967-68 Bertuzzi said he and Naslund are not concerned about who will claim the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league's goal-scoring champ, but simply about claiming a high seed in the playoffs and eventually claiming Vancouver's first Stanley Cup championship. He said the real pressure is on the line's center, Brendan Morrison, who dishes out most of the passes that the dynamic duo put into the net. "[Morrison] said if we're both at 49 and the three of us were going down on an empty-netter, he'd look us both off and roof one."

2	Has any obscure record flown beneath the radar this season?

Ron Francis Craig Jones/Getty Images/NHLI Yes. Carolina's Ron Francis has tied Gordie Howe for the most consecutive seasons with at least 50 points at 22 ... which brings us to a very notable record within reach: Howe's record for games played. As of Thursday, Francis is 121 games from Howe's record of 1,767. And seeing as how Francis is second on the Hurricanes in scoring this season, it's reasonable to assume that he has two seasons left in him even at age 41. He is still one of the premier playmakers in the league and has played in at least 69 games in 19 of his 21 full seasons. Mark Messier, you may note, has played in 1,676 games, and has stated his intentions to come back next season. But Messier would need to play in every game next year (not likley) and come back to play in 2004-05 (no chance). Messier will likely fall short of Howe's record, leaving it there for Francis to grab if he wants it. "When there's only one other guy, and his name's Gordie Howe, that's something I take a lot of pride in," Francis said earlier this season about his streak of 50-point seasons.

3	Speaking of games played, any more Flyers approaching the 1,000 mark?

Eric Weinrich Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI Yes, funny you should ask. Another week, another Flyer playing in his 1,000th game. This time the honor goes to defenseman Eric Weinrich, who is scheduled to reach the milestone Monday night in Pittsburgh. He is the third Flyer to play in his 1,000th game this year, joining Jeremy Roenick and Eric Desjardins. Mark Recchi hit 1,000 last year and newest Flyer Tony Amonte will do it early next season. Not bad for a team with a head coach who never played in an NHL game. Also worth nothing that Roenick, Weinrich and Amonte are all U.S.-born. Like all the others before him, Weinrich chalked his longevity up to passion for the game. "I love playing," he said. "This is the only thing I've ever wanted to do. I'm going to play as long as I can until they kick me out. "For J.R., it's easy see how he loves it. He puts on a pretty good show when he's out there. Me? I love being around the guys and being around a team. I just love the competitive aspect of hockey. I'm sure if I wasn't playing hockey, I would have tried to play some other sport."