Wk 8 - Blackhawks at Maple Leafs

This week's feature matchup takes us to the lower half of the Norris Division as the winless Chicago Blackhawks (0-6-1) - or is it Black Hawks in '83? - visit the Toronto Maple Leafs (3-4-0). The best player on each team is on the bench in this one, as Steve Larmer and Rick Vaive ride the pines for their respective clubs. The Hawks need a win to move within 3 points of 4th place Toronto for the final playoff spot in the Norris. The Leafs can put away their dim hopes if they can post their 3rd consecutive victory.

Out of Town Scoreboard:

Cleveland 2 at Buffalo 2: The Sabres looked to be bouncing back from their 1st defeat of the season when they took a 2-0 lead on Gilbert Perrault's marker in the 2nd which followed an injury to Cleveland's best defenceman Greg Smith. But the Barons would hang around against the Sabres best possible lineup, as Walt McKechnie and Rick Hampton would net last minute goals to salvage a point - and their teams playoff hopes. Gilles Meloche made several big saves to keep the Barons in the game.

Montreal 4 at Hartford 1: Suffocating defence by Larry Robinson and Rick Green kept the Whalers off the score sheet until Blaine Stoughton scored - off Green's head! - with 4 seconds remaining. The Whalers had a chance to tighten the playoff race; but were no match here for Montreal, only mustering 9 shots against Rick Wamsley.

Boston 8 at Quebec 2:  Anton Stastny opened the scoring for the Nordiques in the game's opening shift but it was all Bruins the rest of the way. Barry Pederson and Rick Middleton each scored 3 and assisted on 2, while Ray Bourque netted a rare CPU controlled 2-goal game by a defenceman. After a sluggish start, the preseason favourites are rolling; winning the first 2 games of a 3 game road trip by a combined 14-4. ...Next up the Forum in Montreal!


Philadelphia 4 at NY Rangers 4:  The Flyers best possible forward trio of Bill Barber, Bobby Clarke and Ron Sutter gave the Rangers fits in the opening period, pacing Philly to a 3-0 advantage. The Rangers though would clamp down, and eventually take a 4-3 lead. The Flyers would tie it - and could've won it - but Clarke took a possible game-winning breakaway away from Sutter when he dropped the gloves with Tom Laidlaw to settle a score from several earlier checks by the imposing Rangers' blueliner. See footage --- Sutter would've likely scored as only light-weight Robbie Ftorek had a remote chance of catching him,

Boutette takes one for the team

NY Islanders 4 at Pittsburgh 4:  Bob Nystrom manages to top Clarke, by deciding to slug it out with Pat Boutette just as Anders Kallur's possible game-winner was about to cross the line. Nystrom would leave Boutette's face bloody - but may have left his team's playoff chances a little injured as well. Also in the footage.

New Jersey 4 at Washington 4:  The Patrick Division was expected to be the tightest this season, and that is coming to fruition as the first 3 divisional matches in the circuit end in 4-4 draws. A key turning point in the game was when Randy Holt - a defensive liability for the Capitals - made himself valuable by knocking top Devil forward Mel Bridgman out of the game in a 3rd period fight. The first place Caps took advantage, rallying from a 4-2 deficit to earn the point. Could have been 2, but Mike Gartner and Bobby Gould were both robbed by Chico Resch in the final seconds.

St. Louis 4 at Detroit 2: The Blues go into Detroit and handle the Wings in this battle for 1st in the Norris Division. Dwight Foster had the game tying goal on his stick with Rick Heinz down and out, but  would clang one off the post in the game's final minute. Wayne Babych would put the game on ice moments later, outmuscling Reed Larson for his 4th of the game.

Atlanta 3 at Minnesota 8  - The North Stars offence continues to soar, as they hang an 8-spot on another visitor to The Met Centre. Unlike last week's thriller with the Oilers, this week's opponent couldn't dream of keeping up with them. 8's are wild for the Firebirds - and not in a good away - 8 goals against and an 0-8 record. Both Minnesota and St. Louis clinch a playoff spot with a 1/3 of the season remaining - thanks in large part to the futility of Atlanta and Chicago.

Babych was too much for the Canucks

Vancouver 1 at Winnipeg 6 - Very similar result north of the border in Manitoba, as Dave Babych dominated
at both ends of the rink, propelling the 1st place Jets to a commanding victory over visiting Vancouver.  This was among the most dominating performances of the season.

Calgary 4 at Edmonton 4 - The Flames may be coming to life as Lanny McDonald scored a pair and the defensive tandem of Jamie Macoun and Steve Konroyd - plus defensively aware forward Doug Risebrough - kept the Oilers attack largely at bay in this one. Jari Kurri would eventually breakthrough for a hat trick, to salvage a draw for the home side in the inaugural Battle of Alberta.

Los Angeles 3 at Colorado 6 - The Rockies were clicking this week, connecting on 22 of 25 passes (89%) and firing 22 shots at Gary Laskoski, easily disposing of the Kings 6-3. Both Anders Hakansson and Brian MacClellan were knocked out of the 1st period as Colorado set the tone physically before taking care of the Kings on the scoreboard. The game was 4-0 after 2 periods.

Feature Game: Chicago (0-6-1) at Toronto (3-4-0)
A very good example of Empty Net hockey. The Leafs controlled this game nearly throughout, but got too cute in their own end on the Hawks 1st goal. As can happen this triggered a flurry for the Hawks as they score all 3 of their goals within 23 seconds - and should've had 4 in 40 had Curt Fraser found the empty net. Both the CPU and HUM can fire goals in quick succession off the faceoff; but can go into long droughts as well. The Leafs help their cause in this one by injuring 2 Hawks forwards, meaning their all-33 rating injury replacements come in; and Greg Terrion capitalizes on a terrible Dave Feamster giveaway to tie it. Still this should've been the 1st win of the year for the visitors; but oh do the Leafs catch a break in the end...

Week 7 - Sabres at Capitals

The Sabres perfect 6-0 record is on the line at the Capital Centre
in a battle of 1st place teams

This week's feature matchup is one of two battles of 1st place teams this week as the undefeated Buffalo Sabres (6-0-0) visit the Washington Capitals (4-1-1). Campbell Conference front runners the Jets and Blues are also squaring off this week in St. Louis. The Sabres have won their 6 games by a total of 8 goals, winning 4 one-goal games. The Caps meanwhile have a greater goal differential thanks to routs in L.A. (8-4) and Cleveland (8-1). They are however coming off their 1st loss of the season in Boston last week. The Sabres would appear to hold the lineup advantage based on ratings, but keep in mind that defensive stalwart Mike Ramsey is on the bench - and size and defensive awareness are not the strengths of Housley and Fenvyes. - which could pose a challenge against the speedy Mike Gartner.

Out of Town Scoreboard:

Hartford 3 at New Jersey 6 - Already weary from a physical game in Philadelphia, the Whalers were battered around by a Devils squad who are better than their last place standing may indicate. Both Marty Howe and Michel Galarneau were sidelined by ferocious body checks, and goalie Greg Millen was peppered with 21 New Jersey shots as the Devils prevailed 6-3.

Montreal 4 at NY Islanders 5 - The Islanders were limited to only 10 shots on goal by a strong defensive lineup of the Habs featuring Guy Carbonneau, Rick Green and Chris Chelios. Unforunately Rick Wamsley could only stop 50% of what he faced - including a weak one by Bob Nystrom in the 1st - as the Islanders built a 5-1 lead and hung on for a much needed victory.

Quebec 4 at NY Rangers 4  - Looking for a sweep of New York, the Nordiques held a 4-2 lead late despite only connecting on 11 of their 30 attempted passes. The game looked to be over when Mark Pavelich rang one off the crossbar with 30 seconds left. However Don Maloney would rescue the Rangers by tallying with 16 and 2 seconds left to salvage the tie for New York. Brother's Anton and Marian Stastny each scored a pair for the visitors.

Boston 6 at Philadelphia 2 - The Flyers were only allowing 2.17 goals per game entering the week, but were no match for a Bruins lineup led my Rick Middleton, Ray Bourque and Tom Fergus. Boston played an impressive road game; only trailing in attack zone 2:10-1:45 after 2 periods. The Flyers forwards could not penetrate the tenacious Bruins D' of Bourque and Gord Kluzak, only scoring on two point shots by defenceman Miroslav Dvorak.

Shedden celebrates game winner
away from his teammates

Cleveland 4 at Pittsburgh 5 - An entertaining game at the Igloo as the Penguins led 3-1 after the 1st, and then fired a barrage of shots at Gilles Meloche in the 2nd and early 3rd but could not extend their lead. It was only a matter of time before Barons' Dennis Maruk woke up - as he'd score 2 and add an assist in a 32 second 3-goal flurry midway in the 3rd. But the Penguins are a resilient bunch this year, as Doug Shedden would vault the Pens' back in the lead for good potting his 3rd and 4th goals of the game in the final minute.

Los Angeles 4 at Atlanta 1 - The Firebirds may never win a game. Facing a beleaguered Kings squad minus Bernie Nicholls, they would fall flat at The Omni once again. The light-weight forward trio of Anders Hakansson, Doug Smith and Steve Christoff was a favourable matchup for the defensive tandem of Brad Marsh and Ed Kea - but pivotal errors (an errant pass into their own net) and some bad luck (two goals scored when Kings were bodychecked but the loose puck slid into the empty net) were too much to overcome for the inept Firebirds' attack.

Colorado 2 at Detroit 3 - Despite icing a lineup including Steve Yzerman, Brad Park and Reed Larson, the Red Wings struggled mightily against the woeful Rockies, and trailed 2-1 in the 3rd. However Murray Craven tied it on a goal-mouth scramble and Larson would hit a streaking Ron Duguay in the game's final minute for the breakaway winner. Surprisingly the Rockies held both Yzerman and Park off the score sheet in this surprisingly tight game at the Joe.

Vancouver 1 at Toronto 2 - Toronto was in the attack zone for 5:12 of the 9:00 game but couldn't beat King Richard Brodeur until the game's final minute as Greg Terrion and Rick Vaive scored late to earn the Leafs a hard-fought victory at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Thomas Gradin'less Canucks posed no offensive threat as their only goal was scored when Mark Kirton was flattened by Gary Nylund in the goal-mouth but the loose puck slid into the empty net.

Calgary 5 at Chicago 4 - Paul Reinhart finally came to life with a CPU controlled end to end rush in the final minute to earn the Flames a victory in this matchup of previously winless teams. The Black Hawks only managed to fire 10 shots on Rejean Lemelin; 3 of which were goals by Steve Larmer. The low -flying Hawks and Firebirds are the lone winless teams in the league.

Maxwell blasted home a hat
trick in a wild  8-7 triumph

Edmonton 7 at Minnesota 8 - An absolute barn burner in Bloomington as North Stars defenceman Brad Maxwell netted a hat trick and still wasn't included in the game's 3 Star selection. Both teams squandered 3 goal leads (3-0 Oilers & 7-4 North Stars) before Tom McCarthy finished a tic-tac-toe play with Neal Broten and Dino Ciccarelli for the 8th and decisive goal by the home side. Despite allowing 8 goals on 17 shots, Grant Fuhr made several brilliant saves in the final minutes of a 2nd period that was owned by Minnesota.

Winnipeg 2 at St. Louis 3 - In the week's other matchup of 1st place clubs the Blues dealt the Jets their 1st loss of the season, leaving Buffalo as the league's only undefeated team pending their result in Washington. The Blues looked to be cruising when they scored 2 goals early in the 1st against a Jets lineup that was missing Dave Babych and Dale Hawerchuk. However the Jets would hang around, eventually tying the game on a Laurie Boschman 3rd period goal. Jorgen Pettersson though would counter with his 2nd of the game to earn the win for St. Louis

Feature Game: Buffalo Sabres (6-0-0) at Washington Capitals (4-1-1)

Week 6 - Canucks at Firebirds

This weeks' feature matchup takes us to the sunbelt as the Vancouver Canucks (1-3-1) take on the Atlanta Firebirds (0-5-0). The Firebirds are coming off a fight-filled 5-3 defeat in Edmonton, while the Canucks are undefeated in two following an 0-3 start. Atlanta blew a 2-goal lead last week and would find themselves up 2 again versus Vancouver - could they slow down Thomas Gradin enough to hang on to their elusive first victory? Video below...


Out of Town Scoreboard:

Washington 4 at Boston 5 - The Bruins lived up to their preseason promise by peppering Al Jensen with 19 shots and 5 goals in the opening two frames. The previously undefeated Capitals would prove resilient in the 3rd, scoring 3 times and holding the Bruins to just 1 shot, but the comeback would fall short.

NY Rangers 2 at Cleveland 2 - The Barons rebounded from last week's shellacking, skating to a 2-2 tie with the Rangers. The Barons lost 8-1 to the Capitals last week, but have allowed only 5 goals into their empty net in their 3 other games at Richfield Coliseum. Mark Pavelich scored the equalizer for the Rangers midway through the 3rd, while goalie Steve Weeks and defencemen Tom Laidlaw and Scot Kleiendorst kept the Barons' Dennis Maruk off the score sheet.

Pittsburgh 2 at Montreal 4 - For the second week in a row the Canadiens open up a 4-0 lead at the Forum versus a Pennsylvania squad. Any hopes of a Penguins comeback were put to rest by Guy Carbonneau early in the 3rd when his open-ice check knocked Rick Kehoe out of the game with an injury. The loss snapped the Penguins 4-game winning streak.

Glen Cochrane knocks out Ray Neufeld

Hartford 1 at Philadelphia 1  - The Cooperall Cup saw as many fights as goals - a familiar sight for the Spectrum crowd. Ron Sutter and Ray Neufeld exchanged goals midway through the 1st, and that was all either team could muster. Greg Millen stopped 17 of 18 shots, while the Whalers forwards were knocked down - and in Neufeld's case - knocked out by the slow but bruising defensive tandem of Glen Cochrane and Frank Bathe. The loss of Neufeld crippled a Whaler' attack already weakened by the absence of Blaine Stoughton in tonight's lineup. Bobby Clarke would also square off against injury replacement Paul MacDermid late in the 3rd, much to the delight of the blood-thirsty crowd in Philadelphia.

Quebec 6 at NY Islanders 3  - The Nordiques scored 3 in the 1st and 3 in the 3rd, but may have struck the biggest blow in the scoreless 2nd when Blake Wesley punched Bob Nystrom out for the game. The 6 goals allowed against a Quebec lineup that was missing Anton Stastny should not sit well with the Islanders. Anton's brother Marian and Bo Berglund each netted hat trick's for the visitors.

Buffalo 4 at New Jersey 3 - The 6-0 Sabres gutted out their 4th consecutive 1-goal victory. Defencemen Phil Housley erased a 2-1 deficit with two early 3rd period goals and Sean McKenna's insurance marker proved to be enough for Tom Barrasso to secure another win for league leading Buffalo.

Colorado 2 at Chicago 2 - The Black Hawks dominate the Rockies but can only earn a 2-2 tie thanks to a lack of finish around the net. With Steve Larmer on the bench, the Hawks' failed to capitalize on several golden opportunities, including Tim Higgins ringing one off the cross bar in the final seconds with Doug Favell down and out in the Rockies' goal.

Edmonton 5 at St. Louis 5  - No shortage of finishers in this exciting tilt as the Blues opened up a quick 3-0 lead in the game's opening minute. An undeterred Ken Linseman would lead the Oilers back, as the visitors would eventually hold a 5-4 advantage late in the 3rd before Joe Mullen's 4th of the game earned a point for Norris leading' St. Louis.

Minnesota 3 at Winnipeg 3 - The Jets elect to start Thomas Steen at Center and Dale Hawerchuk on Left Wing. Perhaps they should've reconsidered as Hawerchuk took awhile to adjust to the flanker position, ringing a remarkable 4 shots off the post in the 1st period alone. Bengt Lundholm would later hit 2 posts of his own. So the Jets put 9 past Don Beaupre, but only 3 of which would bulge the twine - which was just enough to even the score with their regional rivals from Minnesota.

Toronto 5 at Calgary 4  - The winless Flames are firmly establishing themselves as the league's major disappointment in Season 1. Calgary fell behind 5-2 early in the 3rd, and that was a hole that proved to be too deep to dig out of with Lanny McDonald out of the lineup. Mike Palmateer stoned Richard Kromm on a breakaway late to secure the win for the Leafs.

Detroit 4 at Los Angeles 3 - One-man team Bernie Nicholls scored with 18 seconds left to tie it, but the Kings defence couldn't hold off the visitors, as Danny Gare scored with 4 seconds left to push the Red Wings into a 1st place tie in the Norris with the Blues. The Kings were only successful on 13 of their 32 attempted passes in the game.

Feature Game - Vancouver Canucks (1-3-1) at Atlanta Firebirds (0-5-0)

Week 5 - Rangers at Bruins

This weeks' feature matchup pits the New York Rangers (2-1-1) at the Boston Bruins (2-2-0). The Bruins are coming off a stunning defeat in Colorado, while the Rangers are feeling strong following a 5-1 drubbing at the North Stars. Many experts were calling for a Bruins-North Stars final prior to the season, so a road sweep of the two would be an impressive feat by the Broadway' Blueshirts.

Out of Town Scoreboard:

NY Islanders 3 at Buffalo 4 - Despite icing their weakest possible lineup the Islanders jumped out to a 3-0 1st period lead at the Aud. Undaunted - and still undefeated - the Sabres shut down NYI the rest of the way, with Gilbert Perrault's marker midway through the 3rd capping the Sabres 4-goal rally.

Washington 8 at Cleveland 1 - Mike Gartner netted a 1st period hat-trick, and the Dennis Maruk'less Barons had no answer. Cleveland's inability to bodycheck was exposed by the Patrick Division leading Capitals.

Kehoe lifts surprising' Pens

Pittsburgh 3 at Hartford 2 - Rick Kehoe provided all the Penguins offence as the Whalers fell to 0-3 at home on the season. Denis Herron robbed Blaine Stoughton in the final seconds to preserve the surprising Penguins 4th win of the season.

Philadelphia 3 at Montreal 6 - Larry Robinson scored 3, and body checked about 30, as the Habs dominated the Flyers, holding a 5-0 lead after the 2nd. The Flyers' Paul Guay & Lindsay Carson and the Canadiens' John Chabot & Guy Charbonneau all shed some blood on the Forum ice in this hard-hitting affair.

New Jersey 5 at Quebec 5  - A see-saw game as Anton Stastny and Mel Bridgman traded markers twice in the late stages of the 3rd. No team had more than a 1-goal lead the entire game.

Chicago 4 at Winnipeg 7 - The high-powered Jets took a 2-0 lead in the 1st, but found themselves behind after the 2nd as Steve Larmer netted a 2nd period hat trick for the winless Hawks. Dave Babych, Thomas Steen and Dale Hawerchuk though would reinforce their dominance in the 3rd, as the Jets scored 4 in the frame to dump 0-5 Chicago.

Minnesota 5 at Calgary 2  - Coming off three straight one-goal defeats, the Flames found themselves down 3-2 for a long stretch in this one, before Dino Ciccarelli broke it open with two goals late in the 3rd. The line of Ciccarelli-Broten-Acton was too much for winless Calgary.

St. Louis 8 at Colorado 2  - The Blues jumped on the Rockies early and often; actually winning the attack zone battle in the 1st - a rare feat for the visiting CPU. Two 3rd period Wilf Paiement goals did little to secure any dignity for the Rockies. How did they beat Boston?

Atlanta 3 at Edmonton 5 - The Firebirds blew a 2-0 lead and a golden opportunity for their 1st win of the

Three rounds of Plett v Semenko incite
Northlands Coliseum crowd

season. With stars Ken Linseman and Paul Coffey on the bench, and Jari Kurri relegated to the less-lethal Extra Attacker position, the Oilers were icing their weakest possible lineup. A sleepy game was ignited by three consecutive Willi Plett-Dave Semenko fights in the 2nd period - inciting the Northlands Coliseum crowd to a deafening roar - and igniting Jari Kurri to score 4-consecutive goals as the Oilers keep pace with the 1st place Jets in the Smythe.

Toronto 3 at Los Angeles 5  - The Kings had an early scare in this one as Bernie Nicholls - by far the best player in their lineup - risked injury in the 1st when he decided to drop the gloves against Gary Nylund. Knocked down, but not out, Nicholls sparked a 4-goal 1st as the Kings held off a late surge by Rick Vaive and company, winning their 2nd game of the season.

Detroit 4 at Vancouver 4  - The Canucks scored two early and two late to earn a draw with the visiting Red Wings - a point they're happy to get without Thomas Gradin and Harold Snepsts in the lineup. Steve Yzerman had a chance to ice the game in the final minute, but rang one off the post, seconds later Gary Lupul tied the game, deking Corrado Micalef with 8 seconds left to tie the game.

Feature Game - New York Rangers (2-1-1) at Boston Bruins (2-2-0)

 

Wales Conference Dominates Opening Weeks

Season 1 of Empty Net'83 began with the Wales Conference posting a 29-15-4 record against their Campbell Conference foes in inter-conference play. All Visiting teams are controlled by the CPU while the Home teams are manned by me with an empty net and an extra attacker.

Here is a breakdown of how each division faired against the other:

Week 1

-Adams at Norris (Adams 4-1-1) North Stars 6-4 win versus Cleveland the lone Norris victory

-Patrick at Smythe (Patrick 3-1-2)  The Oilers edged the Penguins 6-5 for the lone Smythe W

Week 2

-Norris at Adams (Split 3-3) Blues upset the supposedly powerful Bruins in Boston 4-3

-Smythe at Patrick (Patrick 4-2) The Canucks (at PHI) and Rockies (at NYR) fail to score into the empty net

Week 3

-Smythe at Adams (Adams 5-1) The Jets earn the lone Smythe win, harpooning the Whalers 6-1

-Norris at Patrick (Split 3-3) The Norris faired well at the Wales going 6-6 overall

Week 4

-Patrick at Norris (Patrick 5-0-1) Norris' meltdown including North Stars stunning 5-1 defeat vs the Rangers

-Adams at Smythe (Smythe 4-2) The Canucks 4-0 shutout vs the Nordiques capped a good week for the Smythe

Empty Net Home Teams versus CPU Visitors

CPU Visitors 23 - Empty Net' Home 21 Ties 4

Games of Note:

Wk 1 - Buffalo 5 at Atlanta 3

- The Sabres took control of the first game in league history with three early 3rd period goals to take a 5-1 lead. The Firebirds potted two late ones to make the score respectable. Tom Barrasso stopped 17 of the first 18 shots he faced before letting in the final two when the game was no longer in doubt

Hawerchuk' Heroics Bail
Out Blueline

Wk 1 - NY Rangers 6 at Winnipeg 6

- Dale Hawerchuk's 4th goal of the game with 12 seconds left forced a 6-6 tie. The Jets were happy to get a point with Dave Babych (85 rating) out of the lineup and Wade Campbell & Bobby Dollas (38 rating combined) manning their blue-line.

Wk 2 - Toronto 4 at Buffalo 5

- Toronto fans were excited that they drew rivals Montreal and Buffalo as their two Adams opponents in Season 1. Be careful what you wish for - as the short trek home up the QEW will seem mighty long after Gilbert Perrault's goal with 1 second left lifted the Sabres to a 2-0 start. The Leafs also lost at home to the Habs 4-1 in Week 1.

Wk 2 - Colorado 0 at NY Rangers 7

- The biggest rout of weeks 1-4 was perpetrated by the Rangers over the visiting Rockies. Colorado only eeked out 0:25 seconds of attack zone, and Mark Pavelich scored a highlight reel goal among the bludgeoning. Unfortunately Pavelich's goal came in a non--televised game...

Entertaining Palmateer blanks Devils

Wk 3 - Toronto 5 at New Jersey 0

- The acrobatic stylings of Mike Palmateer mesmerized the Mel Bridgman-less Devils as the Leafs rebounded from their crushing defeat in Buffalo. Palmateer posted the lone goalie shutout of the opening weeks.

Wk 3 - Atlanta 2 at Pittsburgh 4

- The Penguins handed the Firebirds their 3rd consecutive defeat. Marty McSorley dished out three defeats of his own - knocking down Harold Phillipoff, Brad Marsh in fights before knocking out Phillipoff -who's cognitive decision making processes were clearly effected by the first fight  - in their second bout of the game. The Penguins moved to 2-0 in front of their frenzied crowd (164 peak crowd meter); also edging the Calgary Flames at the Igloo in Week 2

Wk 4 - Boston 3 at Colorado 4

- The Stanley Cup favourite Bruins fell to 2-2 as they were stunned in the Mile High City by a Rockies squad that had been outscored 20-4 so far this season after falling behind the Bruins 2-0 in the 1st period.

Wk 4- Cleveland 5 at Edmonton 4 - 2nd Intermission

- We will now take you live to 3rd period action between the Cleveland Barons and Edmonton Oilers. The home team has won every game in games involving the two clubs - though that may have to do with the competition. The Barons losing at Minnesota before handing Atlanta and Colorado defeats at Richfield Coliseum. Meanwhile the Oilers were edged by a goal at Washington and Boston following their opening week win at Northlands Coliseum versus Pittsburgh.

Campbell Cnf Preview

See What is Empty Net '83 ? for more details

NORRIS DIVISION

The Minnesota North Stars are the odds on favourites to top the Norris in the opening campaign. Their forwards are comprised of five of their top six potential skaters, keyed by the speedy Dino Ciccarelli and shrewd playmaker Neal Broten. Depending on which defencemen were chosen among the North Stars options, they could be very strong or very weak - in Season 1 they appear to be steady with offensive weapon Brad Maxwell and the reliable Curt Giles capably filling two of the three spots. The most likely challengers to Minnesota are the Blues and Red Wings. The Blues will be suiting up Rick Heinz in net instead of star Mike Liut, but appear to be well heeled in the more important winger positions with Joe Mullen and Jorgen Pettersson. The Blues are without their two stars (Federko & Ramage) in Season 1, a reality that's much different than the Red Wings who are icing all three of theirs in Reed Larson, Brad Park and a young Steve Yzerman. Notably absent in the contenders discussion are the Chicago Black Hawks; with an average looking forward unit and a backend that will be all but hopeless when Bob Murray's not in the lineup. Rounding out the Norris are the Leafs - who could surprise with the acrobatic goaltending of Mike Palmateer and the heavy shots of Rick Vaive and Walt Poddubny, and the Atlanta Firebirds who should find it too difficult to score goals to have much of a say in this playoff race.

SMYTHE DIVISION

Though not void of offensive firepower the Edmonton Oilers have more of an intimidating look than expected in Season 1. Expect a lot of fistacuffs with both Dave Semenko and John Blum taking turns in the lineup. Speed and offensive savvy however will never be fully absent from the Oilers, with Jari Kurri, Ken Linseman and Paul Coffey leading the way this campaign. Another speedy team could surprise as the class of the division this year - the Winnipeg Jets. Like their neighbours to the south in Minnesota, the Jets are loaded with many of their top offensive weapons in particular star Dale Hawerchuk and the quick Thomas Steen. Dave Babych should be an absolute force in the back-end, but the Jets will be extremely vulnerable on his nights off, with the achilles heel of Wade Campbell and Bobby Dollas rounding out their trio. Calgary and Los Angeles each have a pair of stars on their roster in Lanny McDonald, Paul Reinhart, Bernie Nicholls and Larry Murphy - but could struggle mightily on nights one or both are sitting - in particular the Kings who employ the ultimate all-or-nothing lineup in the NHL this season. Rounding out the circuit are the Canucks - a light-weight group who figure to be completely inept offensively when Thomas Gradin is not in the lineup, and the Colorado Rockies who will need big campaigns from Wilf Paiement, Tapio Levo and John van Boxmeer if they are to crack the Top 4 in the Smythe this year. It's difficult to imagine the Kings, Canucks or Rockies advancing past the first round of the playoffs this season.