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ALSO ON SLAM!
Friday, December 3, 1999
Tommy-gun!
Just call him the Tommy-gun.
Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat! He's putting holes in goalies this year.
"Pretty good shot, huh?" laughed Tommy Albelin, who now has four.
Yes, it was, a rising slapper that sailed over Felix Potvin's left shoulder for a 3-0 Calgary advantage that, for all intents and purposes, iced last night's emphatic 5-0 win at Nassau Coliseum.
"Why am I scoring these goals?" he grinned. "How should I know?"
Extra work on the weights? Additional iron supplements? What?
"The last two years, I really haven't taken a lot of shots. And when I did, they wouldn't go in. I mean, I could have a wide open net and somehow it'd stay out.
"So I changed the curve on my stick, and I seem to be able to control the puck better now. Before, most of my shots were low, along the ice. But now I can get some power.
"It also helps playing with Howie (Phil Housley). The other team is keying on him so much that it leaves me open."
Albelin's threatening to eclipse his own personal best nine goals, set w-a-a-a-y back in the '88-89 season when he split time between Quebec and Jersey.
"That far back, was it?"
The entire Calgary defence corps was stellar, led by Housley, Derek Morris and Albelin. After five straight losses on the road, including the first two on this trip, the Flames were due for a dose of good fortune.
"This was a huge win for us, especially going into a tough building like Jersey. You know they're only going to give you 10-15-20 shots, tops, so if we squeeze something out of there we can have the chance to come away from this road trip in pretty good shape," said Albelin.
"The last two games are teams that we should have a good chance against."
DON'T BLAME ROBBIE: Scott Stevens defends Robbie Ftorek, saying if the Devils are not winning often enough, it's not necessarily the coach's fault.
"Robbie's been taking a lot of heat when maybe the players have to look in the mirror," Stevens told the Bergen Record. "I'm tired of seeing Robbie take a lot of heat when it's up to us players to pick it up and get going."
After being late for a practice, New Jersey centre Jason Arnott apologized by taking his teammates out for dinner.
SCOTTY NO. 1: Veteran winger Dave Andreychuck didn't waste any time when asked who was the favourite coach he had ever played for?
"Scotty Bowman," he told the Boston Herald. "I was 18. He brought me into the league, showed me how to be a better player and how to be a better person. As I've gotten older, I've realized just how good he was behind the bench. He really made me a better player."
Bruins teammate Ray Bourque was asked who he thought was the toughest goalie he's ever faced.
"Patrick Roy," Bourque responded. "He's a big-game goalie. The bigger the game, the better he played. His stats and his record prove that and back it up. He always played well against Boston when he was with Montreal."
-With files from CP
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