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Friday, October 8, 1999
Stars not in flight
The Ottawa Senators won their first three games of the regular season despite the absence of Alexei Yashin, who is holding out for a new contract, while the Bruins lost their first three games as goalie Byron Dafoe is in a contract squabble.
"He's a big part of the team, but you've got to play with the guys you've got," said Bruins centre Joe Thornton. "We've just got to work that much harder without him in the lineup."
Both the Bruins and the Senators agree it's too early to start celebrating or sound the warning bells.
"You can't put a whole lot into it," said Ottawa defenceman Wade Redden. "Yash is a great player, but to say he was the only reason we were No. 1 is not the case. We still have a pretty solid team without him."
Let's not forget Yashin was scoreless in his first seven games last year and the team compiled a 4-3-0 record.
Dafoe's importance to the team is not lost on his teammates. His 1.99 goals-against average, third best in the league, 10 shutouts and 32-23-11 record are greatly missed, but they also realize there's room for improvement.
Bruins coach Pat Burns would like to see his team return to the work ethic that earned them a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
"This is not a panic situation," Burns said. "You just have to play through these things."
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