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The Bruins woke up Friday morning with the best record in the NHL and still people continue to blather on about how they didn't sign Bill Guerin in the offseason. Do they look like a team hurting for offense? And they're not doing it with mirrors, either. They've won four games in a row, outscoring opponents 21-6 and going 8-for-24 on the power play.
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CHIRPIN'
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"My stick got caught in his skate. It sucks. When I looked back, I saw him take a step and it didn't look good."
-- Bruins' forward P.J. Axelsson, who said he felt badly about the injury to Islanders' captain Michael Peca. Peca suffered a sprained right knee early in the second period Thursday night, ending his comeback from left knee and shoulder surgeries.
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THE NUMBER
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The number of games played by Bruins defenseman Don Sweeney, a Harvard grad who was told he was too small to ever play professional hockey. Sweeney, who set the mark on Nov. 14 against the Islanders at the FleetCenter, isn't the only NHLer to reach the 1,000-game milestone (he was No. 180) however, he is believed to be the only NHLer to read all 1,000-plus pages of Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."
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WHO'S HOT
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Atlanta goaltender Pasi Nurminen, who began the season as Milan Hnilicka's backup, has pulled his team out of its deep funk. He has led them to their first three-game winning streak since December, 2000, which is just the second time the franchise has won that many in a row.
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WHO'S NOT
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Lots of candidates this week. Rangers' heavy-hitters Eric Lindros (pointless in 14 games) and Pavel Bure (pointless in eight) top the list.
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THIS WEEK'S SIGN ...
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... the Earth is off its axis: Rangers forward Ronald Petrovicky, who arrived in Manhattan via the waiver draft, has two goals -- the same as Eric Lindros. Petrovicky will make $425,000 this year. Lindros will pull in a base of $2.7 million.
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Guerin, though a good guy and a good player, is gone, so why are people having so much trouble getting over it? Part of the reason they didn't give him $9 million a year was the anticipation it would handcuff them in the event of a salary cap when the collective-bargaining agreement expires in 2004. However, another key reason is that they are saving the money they would've given Guerin to pay upcoming restricted free agents Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov, who are the cornerstone of the franchise. Thornton is arguably the best player in the league at the moment and he's only going to get better.
Island mystery
Hard to know what's really going on with the Islanders, isn't it? They were brutal for much of Thursday's game in Boston (a 4-1 loss). Alexei Yashin was all but invisible, and most of the players looked as if they were skating through a fog. They're off to their worst start in seven years (5-11-1), although general manager Mike Milbury, who has displayed a notoriously itchy trigger finger in the past, said he's not hitting the panic button.
"We're getting performances that are subpar," he said. "We can play a whole lot better without doing a damn thing."
A Pat on the back
So far, so good in New Jersey as Pat Burns continues to guide the Devils along successfully in his first year behind the bench. Some have speculated that Burns should have been the one to replace Larry Robinson when he was let go, instead of Kevin Constantine. General manager Lou Lamoriello said he couldn't be more pleased with his new bench boss.
"You ask for accountability, whether it's a star or role player," he said. "If they aren't accountable, they have to feel the pressure. Pat has my full support in that regard. The coach has the toughest job in the game. The coach gets blamed for what the players should be responsible for. All the coach should have to do is make decisions to put the best people together at the right time."
Depth chart
Sabres' forward Curtis Brown, who is clearly struggling this year with only two assists in 14 games, was a healthy scratch Tuesday night for the first time in four years. Coach Lindy Ruff and Brown both said they were disappointed in his game. "It's my job to be as consistent as I can and work as hard as I can," said Brown. The Sabres, winless in their last nine games, are going through their longest skid in 11 years.
The Maple Leafs' shaky start has led to all kinds of speculation about the reasons why. Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry, echoing many of the sentiments north of the border, blamed the absence of Curtis Joseph and wasn't satisfied with his replacement, Ed Belfour. Belfour said he didn't take it personally. "I love Don Cherry," he said. "He is one of my favorite guys and I think he is just showing respect to Curtis. He has stuck up for me many times in the past and I've always appreciated it. [There are] no worries."
Rangers' forward Bobby Holik, the club's $9 million man, still is troubled by a hip flexor problem. Out since Oct. 26, he is expected to undergo an MRI and appears far from a return. Despite his absence -- and that of goalie Mike Richter, who is still bothered by post-concussion symptoms -- the club has won four of its last five games after a dismal start. And that's without much contribution from star forwards Pavel Bure and Eric Lindros. Credit the play of 19-year-old netminder Dan Blackburn, whose latest masterpiece was a 2-1 win in Calgary on Thursday.
Philadelphia forward Jeremy Roenick will reach the 1,000-game milestone on Saturday night in a game against the Bruins. Roenick said he still remembers his first NHL game in 1988-89 -- against the Rangers -- when he was playing for Chicago. "I weighed 155 pounds and was playing against guys who had no teeth, had hair on their face," he said. "I barely had hair on my body, let alone on my face. These guys scared the crap out of me. Luckily, I was faster and they couldn't catch me."
Panthers' coach Mike Keenan is nothing if not entertaining, and he has a method to his madness in criticizing the officiating in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Senators. Keenan felt Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson's pratfalls, which led to penalties on Olli Jokinen and Ivan Majesky, were ridiculous. "I thought he was a better skater than that," said Keenan. "I had a lot more respect for him before I saw those two plays." When Alfredsson was told that Keenan thought he was diving a lot, he quipped "Tell him his players hook a lot." Touche.
Carolina forward Rod Brind'Amour will beat Roenick to the 1,000-game milestone Friday against his former team, the Flyers. The Hurricanes are off to a decent start, despite their anemic offense, because of goaltender Kevin Weekes. Weekes is 8-3-2 with a 1.80 goals-against average and .940 save percentage. The club scored five goals in his first start, but have combined for just 29 goals in 12 since.
Capitals' forward Dainius Zubrus, who missed training camp because of a contract dispute, is going nowhere fast. In 15 games, he had just three points -- all assists.
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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