Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 3068069" data-attributes="member: 2012">Pre-Season!!!NHL returns to Winnipeg on SundayCanadian Press9/16/2006 7:16:51 PM(CP) - Edmonton has made a radical roster makeover since getting to within one win of hoisting the Stanley Cup last spring, and the reconfigured Oilers make their debut Sunday night.They'll face the Phoenix Coyotes in Winnipeg in one of four pre-season NHL openers.Elsewhere, the Florida Panthers are at the Calgary Flames, the Nashville Predators are at the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Boston Bruins skate against the New Jersey Devils in Lowell, Mass.The Oilers are convinced they're on the right path."I think we're better," says veteran Oilers forward Ethan Moreau. "We lost a couple of guys but we're a better team."The reason we're better is the guys have so much confidence from last year. We'll see."Fact is, they've lost a lot more than "a couple of guys" - chief among them big defenceman Chris Pronger and pesky forward Mike Peca. There are a lot of openings. Big Russian winger Alex Mikhnov, Czech blue-liner Ladislav Smid and crafty American centre Rob Schremp are prime candidates.Veterans to wear Oilers colours in Winnipeg will be Moreau, Jason Smith, Raffi Torres, Jarrett Stoll, Marty Reasoner, Steve Staios, Brad Winchester and newly-acquired defenceman Daniel Tjarnqvist.There will be plenty of new faces during the exhibitions because league rules stipulate that each team need dress only eight veterans.Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky has taken captain Shane Doan, Jeremy Roenick, Ed Jovanovski, Derek Morris, Owen Nolan, Nick Boynton and former Oilers Mike Comrie and Georges Laraque to Winnipeg.Gretzky doesn't intend to use goaltender Curtis Joseph right off the bat, so fans in the 'Peg shouldn't expect to see Cujo step onto the ice.Because Winnipeg was home to the franchise from 1979 to 1996, the 15,015-seat MTS Centre will be filled to capacity. Doan was eager to get there."The Winnipeg franchise gave me the opportunity to play in the NHL and that is something very special to me," said Doan, who was drafted seventh overall by the Jets in 1995. "You never forget your first team and your first games that you played."My first game was against the Dallas Stars in Winnipeg and I'll never forget that. A lot of the players coming into the league now don't remember the Jets because it's been a few years now and to be able to say that you played there is certainly something special and something I'm proud of."In Calgary, new head coach Jim Playfair says that having only two days of workouts before the first exhibition game is no problem."If you look at the players we have coming into camp nowadays, they're in such top shape," he said. "They come in with great (fitness test) numbers, they get a couple of practices under their belts and they're ready to go."Former Flames Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts are expected to be in Florida's lineup Sunday night.New Flames left-winger Alex Tanguay will wear No. 40 instead of the No. 18 he wore in Colorado. Matthew Lombardi has had the 18 in Calgary so Tanguay doesn't mind switching back to the 40 he wore when the Avs won the Stanley Cup five years ago.The Panthers also play in Edmonton on Monday night, and Todd Bertuzzi and Ed Belfour will likely play their first games with their new team.The Toronto Maple Leafs also open Monday - at home against the Buffalo Sabres, who'll be sporting new logos and uniforms. Leafs fans should get their first look at new No. 1 goalie Andrew Raycroft.Ottawa plays its first pre-season game against Pittsburgh at Halifax on Tuesday, and Nova Scotians will be eager to welcome home Penguins star Sidney Crosby.Rookie centre Alexei Kaigorodov will be the centre of attention during the Senators' pre-season as he tries to prove he's capable of fulfilling the club's hope that he can skate on a line with captain Daniel Alfredsson.Montreal enters the fray at home against Boston on Tuesday.Injuries are already a factor in determining lineups for the exhibitions.Nashville won't have Paul Kariya or David Legwand in the early going. Kariya has a strained hamstring from lifting weights, and Legwand continues rehab on a sore knee.New Jersey won't use John Madden (groin) and Jim Dowd (shoulder) on Sunday, and leading scorer Brian Gionta remains unsigned.The New York Rangers open at New Jersey on Tuesday, and Devils fans shouldn't expect to see Jaromir Jagr. The Rangers star had surgery on his left shoulder four months ago and coach Tom Renney has been holding him out of camp scrimmages.</blockquote>

Verification