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Dandy Andy With Brunette, Minnesota running Wild on power play
At times last season the Minnesota Wild's power play percentage looked like the interest rate on your savings account. Now, it is among the NHL's best. The difference is Andrew Brunette , the ultimate expansion team scorer. Brunette, who has moved from Nashville to Atlanta and now to the Wild, benefits from the additional ice time he wouldn't get with an elite team. He has developed a good partnership with Jim Dowd and Marian Gaborik , a second-year winger destined for great things, and power-play quarterback Filip Kuba , a left-shot defenseman who plays the right point. Minnesota, the NHL's only unbeaten team heading into Friday, still needs more five-on-five offense but is looking increasingly comfortable in Jacques Lemaire's tight-checking system.
Irbe, Barrasso keep 'Canes' D on its toesThe promising Carolina Mutt-and-Jeff goaltending tandem of Arturs Irbe and Tom Barrasso poses a challenge for the Hurricanes' defensemen.The focus has been on the goalies' obvious physical and temperamental differences -- Irbe is short and voluble while Barrasso is lean and introspective -- but the key is their contrasting on-ice styles. Irbe, the No. 1, is a poor puck handler who leaves the task to his defensemen, who are accustomed to his ways after watching him play an incredible 214 games the past three seasons. On the other hand Barrasso, the father of the modern puck-moving goalie, likes to handle it a lot, which will force the defense to stay alert and get in position to receive outlet passes. In Barrasso's first start, a 3-2 loss to Toronto, miscommunication between the goalie and defensemen led to two Maple Leafs goals.
Sutter gets serious with slow-starting BureFlorida coach Duane Sutter is keeping star Pavel Bure on a short leash. Sutter has benched Bure near the end of one match for indifferent play and trimmed his minutes from close to 27 per game, the leading mark for forwards last year, to around 23. Bure is off to a relatively slow start, scoring just his second goal earlier this week in the Panthers' sixth game, a 2-2 tie in what was his first game back in Vancouver since being traded nearly three years ago. If Sutter can modify some of Bure's tendencies to float, the 59-goal man and the Panthers will be well-served in the long term.Sports lllustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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