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 Thursday, March 16
Avs climb up NHL mountain
 


 March 12, 2000

The Blues have finally hit a bumpy road, although no one can say they've played poorly. Some bad bounces and a missing Chris Pronger on Sunday haven't helped. But all's well with the Avalanche, who look solid since acquiring Dave Andreychuk and Ray Bourque. Toronto had the most wins last week, but it's still tough to place them in front of the teams they're looking up at.

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Team PVS W-L-T-RT ESPN.com says
1.   Wings 2 41-20-8-1 Wings earned eight of a possible 10 points on a five-game road trip. Look for the roster to change by Tuesday.
2.   Blues 1 43-17-9-0 A little bump in the road (0-1-2) shouldn't hurt too much. Expect Pierre Turgeon to return next week.
3.   Capitals 3 36-22-11-1 Loss to Flyers wasn't great, but win over Devils was. Olaf Kolzig creeps into MVP race.
4.   Avalanche 11 33-27-10-1 Now, the West gets to see Bourque at 39 and learn he's still great. Let's do it for Ray!
5.   Stars 4 37-25-7-4 Eddie Eagle. It could be a solid WWF nickname -- with that signature headlock and all.
6.   Leafs 6 39-23-7-3 Leafs skewered the Canadian teams on the road. But Thursday's tilt in Detroit will be a tough one to win.
7.   Flyers 8 36-21-11-2 Rick Tocchet cannot replace the loss of Bourque, but Philly remains dangerous, especially on the power play.
8.   Devils 5 39-22-8-5 If the Devils don't snap out of it soon, Toronto could nab the No. 1 seed in the East.
9.   Senators 7 34-23-11-2 Loss to Leafs shows the Sens are one player away ... but he's chillin' out in Europe, playing for no one.
10. Kings 10 33-27-8-3 Only Detroit has scored more goals this season. Only Detroit beat them last week.
11. 'Yotes 13 35-26-7-1 "Setback" and Keith Tkachuk are three words Yotes fans don't like to hear in the same sentence.
12. Sabres 24 28-32-10-2 Why No. 12? Why not reward guts. Two trades show Sabres want to win ... now.
13. 'Canes 17 30-30-9-0 A team isn't supposed to lose to Boston and move up. But Canes have won four of five and are back in playoff range.
14. Sharks 19 28-32-9-7 All that counts now is points, not wins. Oh yeah, wins count for two points.
15. Panthers 14 36-28-5-5 How could the Caps catch them? How about going 9-14-2 since Jan. 17.
16. Ducks 15 28-30-11-2 Ducks still plagued by inconsistency, but Paul Kariya's return should help the stretch drive.
17. Canadiens 18 30-32-7-3 The Forum ghosts frown at home loss to the Bruins, as do Habs fans hoping for the playoffs.
18. Flames 9 28-33-8-5 "Little Team That Could" is now more like the "Tired Team That Won't."
19. Oilers 12 25-29-15-8 What a difference two weeks can make. With four straight losses, Oilers go from six points up in the Northwest to two down.
20. Penguins 21 28-32-8-6 OK, something new ... boy, that's tough. Hey, even on one leg, Jaromir Jagr's better than half the league. Suit him up!
21. Rangers 16 28-32-10-3 You don't know whether to laugh or cry. Actually, Rangers fans cry; everyone else rejoices.
22. Predators 25 24-39-6-6 Great chance to play spoiler: Wings, Avs, Yotes and Kings all coming up on road.
23. Canucks 20 23-32-14-7 Admit it! Dean Wormer dropped the big one. It was a good effort, but trade Mark Messier and move on.
24. 'Hawks 22 26-36-7-2 Blah, blah, blah ... big wins when nothing matters. You want to impress? Bring back Savard, Mikita and Hull and win.
25. Islanders 23 20-41-8-1 If this team could only get a decent facility, a wealthy owner and two more years experience, we'd be talkin' playoffs.
26. Bruins 28 21-31-17-5 Taking a lesson from the Hawks. This meaningless-game thing is pretty good.
27. Lightning 26 15-45-7-7 Keeping Petr Svoboda means 20-year-old captain Vincent Lecavalier won't be totally hung out to dry the dampness behind his ears.
28. Thrashers 27 12-49-6-4 Losing 9-0 at home -- even to New Jersey -- hurts big time.

 



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