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Ever since the day Lou Gehrig took over for Wally Pip, young bucks have been trying to take advantage of injuries to veterans to poke their way into the lineups of pro sports teams.
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CHIRPIN'
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"Maybe a year ago, we would have ended up with a tie in a game like this. Maybe we would have given up another one. Now, though, these guys are believing in themselves.
-- Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire after the Wild's 3-2 win over Chicago on Thursday
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THE NUMBER
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The number of short-handed goals the Red Wings have scored in their first seven games. The Islanders led the NHL with 17 last season. Detroit finished tied for eighth with 9.
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WHO'S HOT
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Canucks captain Markus Naslund has heated it up after a slow start. He has four goals and an assist and is plus-5 in the past three games.
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WHO'S NOT
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Oilers captain Jason Smith is stuck in neutral, along with the rest of the Oilers defense. He is a minus-6 over the past four games.
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THIS WEEK'S SIGN ...
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…Gordie and the Rocket are back: Last season's leading goal scorers, Jarome Iginla (52) and Bill Guerin (41), dropped the gloves and got in a good ol' fashioned brawl Thursday night in Calgary. When's the last time that happened?
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Hockey is no different, and more than a few players have stepped up into vacant positions during the start of the season out West. Who has staying power and who doesn't? Time will tell, but here's how a few youngsters have come out of the gate.
Niko Kapanen, Dallas Stars: When Jason Arnott went down in the first game of the season with a high ankle sprain, coach Dave Tippett played a hunch and inserted Kapanen into the third-line center spot. The 24-year-old Finn (no relation to Carolina's Sami) has played 16 minutes a game (the same as Pierre Turgeon) and has a goal and three assists. What's more, he's started an instant chemistry with Rob DiMaio, who has four goals.
Future status: Arnott could be back next week, but Kapanen seems to have earned a chance to stay in the lineup.
Andreas Lilja, Los Angeles Kings: With Aaron Miller sidelined since the start of the season by an abdominal injury, Lilja has seen his minutes go from 11:30 last season to 20:34 this season. He has two assists and is a respectable plus-1. Granted Jaroslav Modry is sucking up most of the extra ice time, playing 26:29 a game in Miller's absence.
Future status: Lilja is here to stay, but he could drop back down into the low teens in ice time when Miller returns in November.
Jeff Jillson, San Jose Sharks: With Brad Stuart unsigned -- and nursing an injury -- and with Gary Suter now retired, the Sharks have needed a boost on defense. They have loaded up their veterans with extra minutes (Mike Rathje has gone from 21 minutes a game to 28), but they also are giving Jillson a solid 15 minutes a game. He's struggled with the extra time and is a minus-5 so far on the season.
Future status: The Sharks have no choice but to keep playing Jillson. He should improve as the season moves on.
Brian Boucher, Phoenix Coyotes: Not that Boucher is a young buck with more than 100 games in goal, but he is just 25 and he can make a huge impact with his performance in the next few weeks. Sean Burke is sidelined with a high ankle sprain and Boucher can establish himself as a candidate to be the team's No. 1 goalie. After all, if the Coyotes are building for the future, shouldn't they be building with Boucher?
Future status: He's here to stay, but he's off to a slow start. A 3-2 loss to Colorado on Thursday didn't help.
Barrett Jackman, St. Louis Blues: With Chris Pronger expected to miss most of the season following wrist surgery, Jackman has to step up. The 19-year-old defenseman has done a solid job so far, logging 18 minutes a game and registering a plus-4 in the first five games of the season.
Future status: Jackman and Mike Van Ryn, 23, are under the gun, but both are expected to log significant minutes for the rest of the season. This is a nice start for Jackman.
From goalie controversy to goalie problem
Though Fred Brathwaite is ready to return, and Curtis Sanford, Reinhard Divis or Cody Rudkowsky could hold the backup fort until Brent Johnson returns, the Blues elected to sign veteran Tom Barrasso to a one-year deal with a club option.
What will they do with three goalies when Johnson returns in November? The tentative plan is to move Brathwaite, either through trade or waivers.
The depth chart
Blackhawks coach Brian Sutter made defenseman Boris Mironov a healthy scratch Thursday, but said he would not criticize his players publicly. "If somebody isn't playing well, it's (the media's) responsibility (to criticize)," Sutter told Chicago reporters. "(The media doesn't) have the nerve to write that someone isn't playing well."
Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg will miss at least two games with a groin strain. Expect Jason Williams to take his place in the lineup.
Calgary goalie Roman Turek is 9-1-4 lifetime against his old team, the Stars. That includes a playoff sweep in 2001 when Turek was with the Blues.
Adam Oates was struggling with the Mighty Ducks, but he still was having an impact on the team. By playing in the No. 1 center spot, Oates was taking the pressure off of Steve Rucchin, who responded with five points in the first six games. But after Oates suffered a broken hand Thursday against Vancouver, the Ducks are right back where they were last season.
Worst goal differential in the NHL? How 'bout the Sharks at minus-1.8 goals per game. Recently signed goalie Evgeni Nabokov could play this weekend. Ironically, the formerly heavily penalized Sharks are averaging just 11.6 penalty minutes per game now, second fewest in the NHL.
Nashville coach Barry Trotz can catch Terry Crisp this season for most games by a coach who starts with an expansion team (391). But rumors out of Nashville have put pressure on the Predators coach, who has had 335 games to turn Nashville into a winner. GM David Poile put those rumors to rest this week, assuring that the franchise has confidence in Trotz, who has a contract through 2003-04. Of course, if they continue to have record-low crowds (10,123 -- 2,000 below the previous record), things could change.
Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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