Thursday, April 10, 2003
Dwayne Roloson, Minnesota Wild - Roloson will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Avalanche, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Coach Jacques Lemaire hasn't stated his plans for the games following that but the belief is that he will go to Manny Fernandez for game two. Both goalies will be up against it trying to stop the dominating Avalanche offense.
Curtis Joseph, Detroit Red Wings - Joseph will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Mighty Ducks, reports the Detroit News. Joseph comes into the playoffs on quite a roll, going 15-2-0-2 in his past 19 decisions with a 2.14 goals-against-average and a .924 save percentage.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Anaheim Mighty Ducks - Giguere will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Red Wings, reports the LA Times. Giguere will be in tough against every forward line Detroit will throw out, but if this past season was any indication, he is up to the task. He probably won't be a finalist for the Vezina, but Giguere has been one of the best goalies over the past year.
Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche - Roy will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Wild, reports the Rocky Mountain News. We don't need to say anything about Roy that hasn't already been said but here's one: he's arguably the greatest playoff goalie in the history of the NHL.
Nikolai Khabibulin, Tampa Bay Lightning - Khabibulin will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Capitals, reports the Tampa Tribune. Khabibulin, like Joseph, comes into the playoffs on an extended roll, turning around his season after a miserable start. He is relatively inexperienced when it comes to the playoffs, but is fully capable of leading the Lightning beyond the first round.
Olaf Kolzig, Washington Capitals - Kolzig will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Lightning, reports the Washington Post. The Capitals will need Kolzig at his best to have a chance at knocking off the Lightning, but there is some question as to whether he has been pushed too hard in the regular season.
Dan Cloutier, Vancouver Canucks - Cloutier will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Blues. Both he and the Canucks state that the knee injury which has hindered him for the past few weeks is non-existent but it is something to keep an eye on, especially considering the fact that the Blues are one of the highest scoring teams in the league.
Chris Osgood, St. Louis Blues - Osgood will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Canucks. Even though he's won a Cup before with the Red Wings, the jury is still out on whether Osgood is a legitimate #1 goalie. The first round against the Canucks will be a big test for him as the series figures to be wide open and full of scoring chances which at times has given Osgood problems in the past.
Steve Shields, Boston Bruins - Shields was fabulous in a losing effort against the Devils on Wednesday. Though coach and GM Mike O'Connell would not confirm it either way, Shields believes that he deserves the Bruins' next start tomorrow.
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Joe Nieuwendyk, New Jersey Devils - Nieuwendyk suffered another "facial injury" during game one of the playoffs against the Bruins Wednesday. Nothing is broken in his face and so Nieuwendyk, who is already playing with stitches in his left eyebrow and a black eye, won't miss any additional time.
Justin Williams, Philadelphia Flyers - After returning from knee surgery just in time to play in the Flyers' last regular season game, Williams was a healthy scratch Wednesday in the first game of the playoffs. Apparently it's not related to his knee as coach Ken Hitchcock stated afterwards that he wants to gradually work Williams back into the lineup.
Nik Antropov, Toronto Maple Leafs - Antropov left Wednesday's game against the Flyers after breaking a bone in his right foot. The Leafs are naturally trying to be optimistic saying that Antropov might be able to return before the playoffs conclude, but the expectation is that he is done until next season.
Darcy Tucker, Toronto Maple Leafs - Tucker left Wednesday's game against the Flyers with an apparent left leg injury. Tucker doesn't believe the injury is too serious but the full extent will only be known after an MRI is conducted tomorrow.
Jaromir Jagr, Washington Capitals - Jagr told the media Wednesday that his injured wrist that has bothered him for the past few weeks is feeling much better lately. How the Capitals fare in the playoffs will largely depend on Jagr's performance so if they want to have any chance of advancing past round one, they will need a strong performance from their superstar.
Sergei Berezin, Washington Capitals - Berezin (arm) practiced on Wednesday and will play in game one against the Lightning on Thursday. He will also be joined in the lineup by Ken Klee (bruised foot) and Brendan Witt (ribs) as they have both recovered from their respective injuries.
Martin Skoula, Colorado Avalanche - Skoula practiced on Wednesday but did not participate in any contact drills. As such, he is doubtful to play in game one against the Wild on Thursday, reports the Denver Post. He is still suffering from a bruised shoulder.
Jiri Fischer, Detroit Red Wings - Tests on Fischer's knee revealed that it is currently at 85% of full health. The defenseman, who is recovering from major reconstructive ACL surgery, may be able to play later in the first round but more likely not until the second round.
Pavol Demitra, St. Louis Blues - Demitra flew back out to St. Louis to be with his wife, who is expecting the couple's first child within the next 24 hours. A chartered plane will standby to fly him back for Vancouver, meaning he probably won't miss any game action.
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Dwayne Roloson, Minnesota Wild - Roloson will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Avalanche, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Coach Jacques Lemaire hasn't stated his plans for the games following that but the belief is that he will go to Manny Fernandez for game two. Both goalies will be up against it trying to stop the dominating Avalanche offense.
Curtis Joseph, Detroit Red Wings - Joseph will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Mighty Ducks, reports the Detroit News. Joseph comes into the playoffs on quite a roll, going 15-2-0-2 in his past 19 decisions with a 2.14 goals-against-average and a .924 save percentage.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Anaheim Mighty Ducks - Giguere will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Red Wings, reports the LA Times. Giguere will be in tough against every forward line Detroit will throw out, but if this past season was any indication, he is up to the task. He probably won't be a finalist for the Vezina, but Giguere has been one of the best goalies over the past year.
Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche - Roy will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Wild, reports the Rocky Mountain News. We don't need to say anything about Roy that hasn't already been said but here's one: he's arguably the greatest playoff goalie in the history of the NHL.
Nikolai Khabibulin, Tampa Bay Lightning - Khabibulin will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Capitals, reports the Tampa Tribune. Khabibulin, like Joseph, comes into the playoffs on an extended roll, turning around his season after a miserable start. He is relatively inexperienced when it comes to the playoffs, but is fully capable of leading the Lightning beyond the first round.
Olaf Kolzig, Washington Capitals - Kolzig will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Lightning, reports the Washington Post. The Capitals will need Kolzig at his best to have a chance at knocking off the Lightning, but there is some question as to whether he has been pushed too hard in the regular season.
Dan Cloutier, Vancouver Canucks - Cloutier will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Blues. Both he and the Canucks state that the knee injury which has hindered him for the past few weeks is non-existent but it is something to keep an eye on, especially considering the fact that the Blues are one of the highest scoring teams in the league.
Chris Osgood, St. Louis Blues - Osgood will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Canucks. Even though he's won a Cup before with the Red Wings, the jury is still out on whether Osgood is a legitimate #1 goalie. The first round against the Canucks will be a big test for him as the series figures to be wide open and full of scoring chances which at times has given Osgood problems in the past.
Steve Shields, Boston Bruins - Shields was fabulous in a losing effort against the Devils on Wednesday. Though coach and GM Mike O'Connell would not confirm it either way, Shields believes that he deserves the Bruins' next start tomorrow.
player info
Joe Nieuwendyk, New Jersey Devils - Nieuwendyk suffered another "facial injury" during game one of the playoffs against the Bruins Wednesday. Nothing is broken in his face and so Nieuwendyk, who is already playing with stitches in his left eyebrow and a black eye, won't miss any additional time.
Justin Williams, Philadelphia Flyers - After returning from knee surgery just in time to play in the Flyers' last regular season game, Williams was a healthy scratch Wednesday in the first game of the playoffs. Apparently it's not related to his knee as coach Ken Hitchcock stated afterwards that he wants to gradually work Williams back into the lineup.
Nik Antropov, Toronto Maple Leafs - Antropov left Wednesday's game against the Flyers after breaking a bone in his right foot. The Leafs are naturally trying to be optimistic saying that Antropov might be able to return before the playoffs conclude, but the expectation is that he is done until next season.
Darcy Tucker, Toronto Maple Leafs - Tucker left Wednesday's game against the Flyers with an apparent left leg injury. Tucker doesn't believe the injury is too serious but the full extent will only be known after an MRI is conducted tomorrow.
Jaromir Jagr, Washington Capitals - Jagr told the media Wednesday that his injured wrist that has bothered him for the past few weeks is feeling much better lately. How the Capitals fare in the playoffs will largely depend on Jagr's performance so if they want to have any chance of advancing past round one, they will need a strong performance from their superstar.
Sergei Berezin, Washington Capitals - Berezin (arm) practiced on Wednesday and will play in game one against the Lightning on Thursday. He will also be joined in the lineup by Ken Klee (bruised foot) and Brendan Witt (ribs) as they have both recovered from their respective injuries.
Martin Skoula, Colorado Avalanche - Skoula practiced on Wednesday but did not participate in any contact drills. As such, he is doubtful to play in game one against the Wild on Thursday, reports the Denver Post. He is still suffering from a bruised shoulder.
Jiri Fischer, Detroit Red Wings - Tests on Fischer's knee revealed that it is currently at 85% of full health. The defenseman, who is recovering from major reconstructive ACL surgery, may be able to play later in the first round but more likely not until the second round.
Pavol Demitra, St. Louis Blues - Demitra flew back out to St. Louis to be with his wife, who is expecting the couple's first child within the next 24 hours. A chartered plane will standby to fly him back for Vancouver, meaning he probably won't miss any game action.
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