European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 2, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday october 2, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 25 nil preview first place often a pitfall in nil the National hockey league begins its 1990-91 Campaign thursday. Here is a preview of the coming season by Joe Sexton and Joe Lapointe new York times Patrick division distrust is required it was once said because it is the Only defense against betrayal. Distrust then is the Only option for loyalists of teams in the Patrick division of the Walsh conference. After All the betrayals of recent years those double crosses bom of both capricious circumstances and abject failures have been too numerous to count. In 1988, the islanders finished first in the regular season Only to be bounced in the first round of the playoffs. In 1989, the Washington capitals after finishing first for the first time in franchise history duplicated the dubious exit in the initial round of the playoffs. And last Spring the rangers who Hadnot won an official title of any sort in 48 years captured a season Ana then by surrendered the Pat the regular season Ana then promptly Rick division final to the capitals a team that had never Ever advanced to a conference final. And already the 1990-91 season has produced its first significant betrayal Mario Lemieux a Back. Lemieux a Back injury expected to sideline the games most incandescent performer for three months has cast a pall Over the Patrick division As Well As dazed the entire Pittsburgh organization. The devils appear to be the team most capable of achieving that unrewarding distinction of finishing first in the regular season. The multinational team with the split personality last year a with players from the soviet Union Czechoslovakia Finland Sweden and a Bunch of Guys from new Jersey a should be More comfortable with itself and thus More consistent in its level of play. Peter Stastny one of the no la a More unappreciated stars for the last decade gives the devils Power play an offensive artist. And his teaming with John Maclean 83 goals in the ast two seasons and Kirk Muller 25 or More goals the last five years and not one game missed the last three complements what theoretically could be one of the leagues Premier lines. Their defense must hit More perhaps watching the recently acquired Forward Claude Lemieux crunch and antagonize opponents to distraction will Helmand Sean Burke must at last seize the reins As the goal tender of the moment. The rangers who have spent most of their preseason applaud-ln8 their own perceived Tough tests it have on paper one of the nil s elite defences with Brian Duetch James Patrick David chaw and Normand Rochefort and one of its brightest Goa tend no tandems John Vanlies Brouck and Mike Richter. The rangers possess authentic offensive weapons in Bemie t u 11?, Mike Gartner and John Ogrodnick and a Nice mix of overachievers Kelly Kisio and blossoming Talent Darren Turcotte a 32 goals led All rookies last season. Mario Lemieux. Already Sideli Ned the penguins went 5-12-4 after Lemieux a injury ended his season in March a skid that dumped them out of the playoff picture and does no to paint a Rosy one for them this season. Joe Mullen and Bryan Trot tier acquisitions both past their e Rimes Are not beyond providing Elp. The appointment of the tactically sound Bob Johnson As coach removes the possibility of griping about the Lack of a strategic system and thus the Crutch the team had relied on in the process of helping get the previous two coaches dismissed. A a tremendous Shock and an embarrassment to me and All the players a Paul Holmgren said about Philadelphia a rare failure to qualify for the playoffs last season. The comments were Blunt. They could also be repeated seven months from now unless a lot of things break right for the flyers. Tim Kerr is recovering from yet one More operation on his shoulder. Murray Craven is an uncertainty As Well As he rebuilds his own surgically repaired shoulder. Mark Howe their Veteran quarterback of a defens Eman May have to play every other game because of his bad Back. Mike Ricci drafted last Spring will be the teams top offensive Center on opening night. The capitals after a brutal off season that included allegations of sexual misconduct by a handful of players and the staggering free agent signing of their All Star defens Eman Scott Stevens by the St. Louis blues Are reeling and their crash through the season could be unsightly. Kevin Hatcher their other dominant defens Eman is holding out in a contract squabble and should his future status be anything other than present and 100 Perce a ton pretty. To an Terry Murray his plan was to play the Agim Mike list in As Many As 60 games in goal this season a plan that arguably is a blueprint for calamity. The islanders who exploited one sensational stretch of their play and a season Viiu of undistinguished performances from other teams into an abbreviated playoff appearance do not seem measurably better outfitted for Success this season. Pat Lafontaine pending a fruitful Resolution of his contract situation no doubt will be breathtaking again but an assortment or gift less wingers and an unsteady defense a the fortuitous acquisition of Montreal a Craig Ludwig notwithstanding a will take the life out of enough efforts to make it a Long season. Adams division a it May be that the race is not always to the Swift nor the Battle to the Strong a Damon Runyon once conceded. A but that is the Way to  the intelligent hearts Wager then should be on the Buffalo sabres to finish first in the Adams division this season. The sabres after All have an impressive inventory of Talent and in Rick Dudley a coach who despite a curious collapse of imagination in the opening round of the playoffs last season is quite capable of deploying it to estimable effect. With Pierre Turgeon one of the games nascent superstars and the recently acquired Dale Hawer Chuk so accomplished a craftsman that he has scored More Points Over the last decade in the nil than All but four other players the sabres possess an unmatched depth of offensive destruction at Center. As Well months of therapy has freed Aleksandr Mogiln to Fly without fear a feat the gifted right Wing from the soviet Union can perform with dazzling ease on the ice. Daren Puppa the promising Young goaltender who wears the abbreviated designation for Al universe on the Back of his mask appears prepared to step to the forefront As one of the sports finest goaltenders. The sabres it has to be noted Are rather less than prohibitive favourites. With the Bruins the canadians and the whalers the Adams division last season boasted four of the no la a 10 top teams. The Bruins the Best of the Bunch were also the elite team in the regular season compiling the top record at 46-25-9 with a marvelous balance of skills finishing second in penalty killing second on the Power play and As the no la a smartest most disciplined team also penalized less than All except but one of the other 20 the components of such completeness As a team Are All returning a Ray Bourque the sports unparalleled de Senseman Cam Neely its quintessential Power Forward Craig Janney its play making precision m 4 a m i a hav 1 revolution that took place with the canadians Over the summer remains to be seen. After seasons of employing an effectively suffocating but often numbingly dolorous defensive Brand of play the addition of Denis Savard the free Wheeling fire starter of offence who has scored 1,013 career Points and of the de Chelios and the subtraction Fen semen Chris Craig Ludwig is Likely to leave the forum thrilled one night and humiliated the next. Stephane Richer Shayne Corson and Russ Courtnell will score goals. But beyond or rather in front of Patrick Roy the Vezina trophy Winner there Are Many candidates for stopping them. The whalers who last season became just the third team in nil history to finish with a record better than .500 on the Road and one worse than that at Home finished 19th in offence and will have to Engineer More. They have a deep and dangerous right Side with Kevin Dineen Pat Verbeek and Scott Young. But their goal ending anchored by Peter Sidorkiewicz is Good but not great and thus their chances of a finish better than fourth Are about the same. Their chances of a worse finish though Are microscopic because Quebec a rebuilding pro Fram is still in its infant stage locked with one Bona fide transcendent Talent a Joe Sakic scored 102 Points last season on a team that won just a dozen games a and a platoon of potential players seasons away from Impact a Bryan Fogarty a defens Eman and a Rookie Forward Owen Nolan a the Nordi ques Are outfitted to do nothing but position themselves for the top selection in next years draft once More. Smythe division the words smythe division evoke certain Clear and established images six Stanley cup championships in the last seven seasons big ice surfaces and speedy european players four Campbell conference franchises in unpretentious Western Canada and one in flashy Hollywood Modem Arenas in four of five cities maximum frequent flier Miles and Wayne Gretzky growing older and More Brittle on a confused fourth place team. Gretzky a former club the Edmonton oilers won the cup again last Spring when they surged at the end of a season of parity in a Well balanced league. Although Well managed and Well known the team nucleus a stars like Mark Messier Glenn Anderson Kevin Lowe a Are All around the age of 30, on the Downside of a High Hill. Grant Fuhr the goalie injured most of last season has been suspended for one year for past drug involvement. Will Bill Ranford persevere As his legitimate replacement Jari Kerri has left for Europe. Randy Gregg turns 35 this Winter. The Midline of Martin Gelinas Adam Graves and Joe Murphy have yet to prove they Are More than a third Best combination. Petr Klima is a skilled flashy inconsistent part time player. The oilers although again defending champions continue in a rebuilding phase. Their toughest Competition should come from the Calgary flames the regular season divisional champions and 1989 cup winners who seemed to show less than their Best in the playoffs for Terry Crisp now their former coach. He was replaced by Doug Risebrough who like Bob Gainey in Minnesota is a Rookie coach who played for Montreal canadians during the most recent Stanley cup epoch. Much will depend on the recovery from knee injury of Joe in Ouwendyk whose team leading 95 Points would be hard to replace. Sergei Makarov returns As the Best of the disappointing class of senior soviet players to enter the league last season. Defense is Strong in its own end As Well As on attack As a1 Mclnnis and Gary Suter finished second and fifth respectively among the Nils Post proc fucking de Fen semen. Mams Best Gate scoring threat. And As he turns 30 this year he is probably 85 or 90 percent the player he was in the mid-1980s. The Back injury which kept him out of some playoff games and weakened him for others is another in a series of Little hurts in recent seasons for the great one. With a better supporting cast the Kings might do better than fourth place and a second round playoff exit. Winnipeg which traded the unhappy Dale Hawer Chuk to Buffalo should continue to improve after getting in return Phil Housley Scott Arniel and Jeff Parker. With Housley heading the depth at defense and no High powered forwards a Trade is not out of the question. Vancouver went off the track last season and might not get Back this year. Petr Nedved the canucks top draft pick could make the team and help instantly if he comes to contract terms. When an 18-year-old Rookie defector from Czechoslovakia is your brightest Hope that Isnit usually a sign of depth. Norris division dismissed for a decade As the fourth Best division in a four division league the Norris moved up a notch last season and could continue to improve again this year. On average each Norris team earned 79.4 Points in the standings ahead of the Patrick teams who averaged 77. Moreover the Norris offered a High profile goal scoring Champion in Brett Hull of St. Louis a legitimate Stanley cup contender in the Chicago Blackhawk and a rejuvenated group of running and gunning Toronto Maple Leafs. The Norris also has turmoil and transition at the management level with new regimes running the shows in Minnesota and Detroit and one Man getting More powerful in Chicago. The blues have added a talented defens Eman in Scott Stevens As did the Blackhawk in Chris Chelios. Certainly the division has toughness with three of the no la a four most penalized teams residing near the frigid Winter Waters of the great lakes. If Only a Premier goalie would emerge this division would offer a Tittle of everything and is Jon Casey of Minnesota ready to fill that role the North stars Are also under new ownership with Norman Green overseeing Bob Clarke As general manager and Bob Gainey As coach. Last seasons confusion Over the franchises health and future obscured modest Progress on the ice where Casey won 31 games Brian Bellows had career highs in goals 55 and Points 99 and Mike Modano emerged As a Rookie with whom to be reckoned. No Norris team decayed faster than the red wings who reached the final four in the playoffs of 1987 and 1988 before touching Bottom last season and missing Post season play. They Are hoping for significant contributions from Sergei Fedorov who fled the soviet Union and see nil on Page 27