Ozolinsh Ducks Interviews but Is Expected for Game

Sandis Ozolinsh, stunned by being traded to the Mighty Ducks by the Florida Panthers on Thursday, missed Saturday’s All-Star skills contest and considered skipping today’s game. He had been told he was secure in Florida and bought a house -- a purchase scheduled to close Saturday.

However, a club spokesman said the defenseman will play today for the East and will join other Duck personnel on a flight to Calgary on Monday morning.

“It’s not an issue. He’s going to report,” General Manager Bryan Murray said. “He’s ready to go.”

NHL officials said Ozolinsh avoided interview sessions Friday and Saturday because he didn’t want to face repeated questions about the trade. He also didn’t want to wear a Panther jersey Saturday, as had been planned.

Although Ozolinsh didn’t immediately warm to the deal, the trade delighted Duck winger and West All-Star Paul Kariya. “It was huge. A big trade for us,” Kariya said. “It says we’re trying to win now. It’s great for our team and will take the load off guys like Kurt Sauer, who was playing a lot of minutes.”

Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy of the West was the only other no-show for Saturday’s interview sessions.

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In deference to the Columbia shuttle tragedy, the NHL will observe a moment of silence before today’s game and has eliminated a pregame pyrotechnics display. A moment of silence was observed before Saturday’s events.

“There was a celebratory opening that needs to be a bit more respectful in light of what happened,” said Bernadette Mansur, group vice president of communications for the NHL.

Mansur also said the game might be interrupted or moved from ABC to ESPN or ESPN2 if ABC decides news regarding the shuttle takes precedence.

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Heeding the letter if not the spirit of an arbitrator’s ruling that the NHL must resume keeping track of such statistics as blocked shots and hits, Commissioner Gary Bettman said the numbers will be tallied but won’t be made public. He said those statistics, which the league stopped compiling because it claimed the reliability of off-ice officials varied from city to city, will be given only to the NHL Players’ Assn. The union contended the league stopped tracking the numbers to prevent players from using favorable stats as ammunition in contract negotiations.

“We don’t have to use them for public dissemination,” Bettman said. “We have no confidence in them.”

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The consensus among assembled players was that referees have relaxed their vigilance against obstruction. But Colin Campbell, the NHL’s director of hockey operations, contended fewer penalties are being called because defensemen have adapted to the change.

But he said general managers will meet this week to discuss how well the crackdown is going and how consistent the officials have been.

“We think it’s working pretty good and we think some nights, if we watch nine games one night, there’s two games we’re pretty much unhappy with on the average,” Campbell said. “There are nights when you would like to reach inside the [TV] screen and strangle some of the people who work for you. That’s the same with all aspects of this game.... The calls we make are going to be tough calls. It’s working. It might not be the way some people want it, but we haven’t let off yet in our enthusiasm on it.”

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The East’s young stars defeated their West counterparts, 8-3, in a 30-minute game designed to showcase players 25 or younger.... In a return to the East vs. West format, which had been replaced by North Americans vs. the rest of the world the last five seasons, the West defeated the East, 15-9, in skills competition. The West won the puck control relay, but Martin St. Louis of Tampa Bay and the East won the individual puck control contest. Marian Gaborik of Minnesota (West) was the fastest skater, circling the rink in 13.713 seconds, and the West won the team speed event.... Al MacInnis of the Blues (West) had the hardest shot for the seventh time, clocked at 98.9 mph. Jeremy Roenick of the Flyers (East) won the accuracy contest by hitting four targets on six shots, and the West won the pass and score event and the breakaway relay.

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Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this report.