Selanne Playing Remember Game

NHL teams are getting more shots per game this season. It hasn’t meant more scoring, however.

As of Thursday, shots were up two per cent over last year (55.9 per game combined, compared to 54.7 last season. Nevertheless, teams had combined for a total of 5.3 goals a game--the same as last season at this point.

“I think the big difference is how the goalies are playing these days,” said Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne.

Selanne, who broke into the NHL in the 1992-93 season with a rookie-record 76 goals, knows times have certainly changed.

“Back then, it seemed to me that it was easier to score. [Now] I can play against 10 goalies and not know the difference.”

As for the game itself, Selanne said the style has changed to a more defensive approach.

“Lots of teams want to do the trap and they always think about defense first. I think that’s really helping the goalies, too.”

The NHL has seen a steady decline in scoring in the ‘90s, particularly in the last three seasons. Two years ago, there were only three 50-goal scorers and two players who reached the 100-point mark. Last season, there was only one 100-point scorer and two players at the 50-goal mark.

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL: Why are the New Jersey Devils so successful on the road? It’s simple, according to defenseman Scott Stevens.

“I think we play a simple game, patient game, a little more relaxed, maybe,” Stevens says. “And we are in all the games. They are not all pretty, but we feel we can win every game on the road. That is a big part of it.”

As of Thursday, the Devils had a league-best 24-9-2 road record.

ROGER, AND OVER: After he was fined $10,000 and suspended two games for tossing a stick on the ice recently, Philadelphia Flyers coach Roger Neilson opened himself up for some humor.

St. Louis Blues defenseman Chris Pronger took the opportunity during a national conference call with hockey writers.

Asked if he had ever seen Neilson throw a stick on the ice before, Pronger said:

“I think I saw him do that when he was in Florida. I remember the drill quite well.”

Asked for his impression of Neilson’s act, Pronger quipped:

“Well, his javelin throw was a little off center. He was trying to throw toward the referee, and I think he shanked his throw and it went toward the linesman.”

LIGHTNING NOT STRIKING: Should the Tampa Bay Lightning finish last overall, they will become the 14th team in NHL history to have the worst record in at least two consecutive years.

It doesn’t bode well for the future. Of the 14 teams that previously finished last overall two straight seasons, only one team made the playoffs the following year. And that happened 70 years ago.

The 1929-30 Chicago Blackhawks earned a post-season berth, but were eliminated in the first round. In fact, eight of the 14 teams wound up last again -- one folded -- and the other four teams were either next to last or second from the bottom.

“We realize there’s a long way to go, but we’re trying to build something here,” center Chris Gratton said.

A GREAT SHOT: Al MacInnis for the Norris Trophy this season? New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens thinks he has a good chance.

“He really has improved a lot since he has come into the league,” says Stevens of the St. Louis Blues’ defenseman. “He seems to be getting better and better.

“He is very potent on the power play and playing a lot of minutes and he is playing more defensively, which was always a knock. But now I think he is doing more in the penalty killing role and play against top people, also.”

MacInnis, a perennial winner of the hardest-shot competition at the all-star game, has never won the Norris as the NHL’s top defenseman. As of Thursday, MacInnis had 19 goals and 35 assists for 54 points.