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Thursday, December 2, 1999
Carolina reaching dizzying heights
Perhaps continued exposure atop the NHL's Southeast Division gave veteran centre Ron Francis a bad case of vertigo last week.
Whatever the cause, the Carolina Hurricanes captain is back from two games off with extreme dizziness to meet the Maple Leafs tonight in Raleigh. He was pointless in Carolina's 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, stretching the club's unbeaten streak to 2-0-2. The defending division champions trail the Florida Panthers by two points for the Southeast lead entering play tonight.
The timing of his return isn't that great for the Leafs, against whom Francis has a 1.66 points-per-game average, the highest of any active NHLer.
Francis awoke with vertigo symptoms last week in Tampa Bay, possibly caused by a few recent jolting checks. However, a few days ago, a specialist positioned his head and neck the way it was when the dizziness struck and Francis was fine.
Francis, 36, has helped linemate Sami Kapanen to a team-high 12 goals, while left winger Bates Battaglia's nine are two more than all of last season.
"Ron has a lot of savvy and experience," Leafs backup goaltender Glenn Healy said yesterday before the club flew to North Carolina. "He has played with some of the best in the world in his career and has proved himself durable."
The 'Canes also are getting a lift from 38-year-old defenceman Paul Coffey, who credits his seven points in five games to a steady diet of playing time after coach Paul Maurice held him in reserve against physical clubs. Coffey's injuries -- elbow, knee, foot and back -- have cleared up and Maurice has been letting Coffey run the power play.
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