Frozen Ponderings

Bruins forward Bill Guerin had a scary moment against St. Louis last Saturday when Chris Pronger's stick caught him in his face. Luckily, no serious damage was done -- just a bloodshot eye and a bruise on his eyelid. "The first thing I thought of was Bryan Berard," Guerin said, referring to fellow New Englander who was forced to retire because of an eye injury. "I got lucky." Despite the close call, Guerin remained adamant about not wearing a face shield. "I, personally, don't like it. It may sound stupid, but that's it." Now that Sean Burke signed a contract extension, the big question surrounding the Coyotes is, "What's next?" Jeremy Roenick rumors range from a contract extension to an imminent trade. There's no talk of a Keith Tkachuk extension, but his name is in play in several NHL cities. Every time Phoenix comes through Boston -- the Yotes visit the Bruins on Tuesday night -- both Roenick and Tkachuk are bandied about as potential future Bruins. "It's been crazy," Roenick said. "When I get back to the hotel, I'm going to have to see what's going to happen today (Tuesday)." Conventional wisdom says Phoenix won't keep both Roenick and Tkachuk. Carolina, currently one point ahead of Boston for the No. 8 seed in the East, begins a crucial four-game road trip on Tuesday. Only one opponent -- New Jersey this Friday -- is above .500 and winning three of four might be necessary because the Bruins are at home for seven of their next eight contests. In past seasons, the competition for the No. 8 seed in both conferences was extremely intense -- and usually included quite a few teams. But unless teams like the Rangers and Kings get it going, there may only be nine teams in the East and eight in the West competing for playoff spots. As has been said, Boston is one point behind Carolina, but after the Bruins, the Rangers are nine back. Out West, the Kings sit in ninth, six points behind Edmonton with two games in hand. Nashville, Calgary and Chicago are within 10 points, but that's a lot of ground to make up in 20 games.

The Flyers seem as impervious to criticism as a Teflon Ronald Regan circa 1985.

Through the drama of Eric Lindros' annoying status, John LeClair's back woes, Brian Boucher's relegation to No. 2 status behind Roman Cechmanek, a new head coach, the retirement of Keith Jones and other injuries it's been stated how impressive it is that Philly sits atop the Atlantic Division.

And it is impressive.

However, for all that conquered adversity, losing their leading scorer might be the biggest obstacle this season. And that says a lot about second-year forward Simon Gagne, who turns 21 this Thursday. Gagne won't be celebrating too much because he's scheduled to miss three weeks because of a dislocated shoulder he suffered trying to throw a punch at Tampa Bay's Andrei Zyuzin on Saturday.

That maneuver normally would endear him to GM and old-school tough guy Bob Clarke. But no one in Philly, especially Clarke, is smiling about Gagne's injury because the young forward is one-third of the Flyers' top offensive line, along with Keith Primeau and Mark Recchi. Their line is the only reason Lindros and LeClair haven't been missed.

Just in the East consider this: