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The mideason best and worst
With the All-Star game upon us, here's a look at some of the best and worst of what the NHL provided in the first half: Best show of restraint: By the Dallas Stars, who did not exact revenge against the Mighty Ducks in Oct. 8 game. In the teams' previous meeting six days earlier, a violent hit-from-behind by Ducks defenseman Ruslan Salei drove Dallas center Mike Modano headfirst into the end boards -- prompting angry words from several Stars. Worst fallout from a contract dispute: The Bruins' Byron Dafoe has yet to find his form after missing the entire preseason and the start of the regular season haggling over a new deal. With Dafoe near the bottom of the league in goals-against average, Boston is fighting to make the playoffs. Best innovation: Four-on-four in overtime. Wide-open ice, players skating end-to-end -- maybe they should play a man down all the time. Worst innovation: The inane "RT" column in the NHL standings. It does nothing but mislead and confuse. Most exhilarating player to watch: Florida's Pavel Bure. He brings you to your feet and keeps you there. Most frightening injuries: 1) Trent McCleary taking a slap shot to his neck; 2) Brian Savage's broken neck; 3) Eric Lindros's most recent concussion. Best addition to the league: Devils rookie Scott (Go-Go) Gomez. He'll probably keep go-going to the Calder Trophy. Best explosion in a contract year: Detroit's Brendan Shanahan. He's playing like the Shanny of old. Silliest Individual Statistic: Shooting percentage. Does anyone ever look at this? Best off-season acquisition: The Blues obtaining goalie Roman Turek from the Stars. Turek, an All-Star, has been the league's top goalie and his poised presence makes the Blues serious Cup contenders. Worst haircut: Jaromir Jagr. Didn't he look so much cooler with his long locks flowing behind him? Best play by a graybeard: Bruins' incomparable, 39-year-old defenseman Ray Bourque. He's getting more than 27 minutes of icetime a game, and didn't slow down even after getting three teeth knocked out. Best family moment: Devils enforcer Krzysztof Oliwa scoring a rare goal as his mother, over from Poland and attending her first NHL game, watched from the stands. When the puck went in, Mom wept with joy. Best emergence from a long sleep: Sharks RW Owen Nolan. We've been waiting for him to return to his 35-40 goal form of the early '90s, and now he finally has. Honorable mention: Ottawa's Radek Bonk. Most wigged-out coach: The Penguins' Herb Brooks, who attacked TV announcer John Kelly outside the Penguins dressing room. Brooks was upset that Kelly had suggested Pittsburgh forward Matthew Barnaby may have exaggerated an injury. Most invisible "player of the future": Rangers' sophomore center Manny Malhotra, whom New York GM Neil Smith has touted as a cornerstone of the club and whom Smith refused to include in a proposed trade for Pavel Bure last year. Malhotra has gotten little ice time from coach John Muckler. Now he's doing a stint in the minors. Most frightening weapon in the NHL: Al MacInnis's slapshot. Kostya Kennedy is a Sports Illustrated staff writer who covers the NHL for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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