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One in, one out Niedermayer returns, Daneyko questionable for Sunday
Posted: Saturday April 15, 2000 10:56 PM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- For the first time in their history, the New Jersey Devils face the prospect of a playoff game without defenseman Ken Daneyko. A Devils mainstay since the franchise moved from Colorado to New Jersey for the 1983-84 season, Daneyko strained an abdominal muscle early in Game 1 of the Devils' first-round series with the Florida Panthers. Daneyko, who turns 36 on Monday, didn't skate in practice Saturday. He will decide Sunday whether his streak of playing in 109 straight playoff games will end. The run dates to 1988, the first year the Devils made a postseason appearance. "If there is a will, there is a way," Daneyko said Saturday. "I'm going to try to get out on the ice, but if I can't, I'm not going to jeopardize the team." An MRI exam of the injury showed no tear or hernia, Daneyko said, adding he felt a little better Saturday. He said he "gutted" out the Devils' 4-3 win in Game 1 after being hurt on his second shift. "In the playoffs you try to do everything in your power to play," Daneyko said. "I'm pretty fortunate we had two days in between. Most teams don't get that. I guess the scheduling was a blessing for me." Interim coach Larry Robinson indicated he wasn't going to push Daneyko, even though that's not the team's only injury. Center Jason Arnott hurt his wrist in Game 1, and he also will make a game-time decision. Arnott, who centers the Devils' top line, has practiced the last two days. Robinson plans to talk with trainer Bill Murray before talking with Daneyko and Arnott. "I'll find out their physical status," Robinson said. "To me, if a guy is only 60, 70 or 80 percent, it doesn't make any sense to play a guy and risk losing him for the rest of the series maybe for the sake of one game." If Daneyko can't play, the good news for the Devils is that fellow defenseman Scott Niedermayer is eligible to play after sitting out a 10-game suspension for hitting Panthers forward Peter Worrell over the head with his stick on March 19. Niedermayer, who has said the incident is behind him, would replace Daneyko on defense rather than Brad Bombardir, who played well in recent starts. If Arnott and Daneyko can't play, Robinson likely will move Bombardir to forward, playing on the fourth line with John Madden and Jay Pandolfo. Sergei Nemchinov would center for Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora, and then Ken Sutton would fill in for Daneyko The Panthers also will have to adjust their defense with Mike Wilson questionable after taking a slap shot off his foot. The team, which dressed seven defensemen for Game 1, also recalled Brad Ference from the minors in case Wilson can't play. The bigger problem for Florida will be avoiding another bad start in Game 2. They fell behind 3-0 in the opener of the best-of-7 series and never recovered. The Panthers also need more from Pavel Bure, who led the NHL with 58 goals. He had one assist and missed a great scoring chance in close with Florida down 3-2 early in the first period Thursday night. He finished with a minus-2 rating, and his rating is minus-8 in six games against the Devils this season. "Normally the star players are checked very closely, and they don't get a lot of opportunities to put points on the board or get goals," said Panthers left wing Ray Whitney. "It's going to be up to the other players who normally don't get the big goals to come up big for us." Whitney said he and Mark Parrish can pick up some of the slack for Bure. "But he's a superstar," Whitney added. "This guy's got to find a way to perform. That's part of being a superstar."
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