In the Crease

John D'Amico, who was the NHL supervisor during the No Goal II
controversy in the Flyers-Sabers playoff series last month,
found a hole in a net before three games of the subsequent
Devils-Maple Leafs series. The league needs to loosen the
tightly strung twine to make it more difficult for the nets to
tear open from shots blasted during warmups....

Also, someone at league headquarters should examine its
deployment of officials. Forty-one hours after Dan Marouelli and
Rob Shick worked the five-overtime match between the Flyers and
the Penguins last Thursday, they officiated Game 5 of the New
Jersey-Toronto series. Not surprisingly, both men looked
fatigued, and each nearly made a costly error. In the third
period Shick unintentionally picked off Maple Leafs forward
Sergei Berezin as Berezin skated with the puck toward the
Devils' net; later Marouelli mistakenly set a pick on New Jersey
defenseman Scott Niedermayer that nearly sprang Toronto's Steve
Thomas loose for a scoring opportunity....

Last week the Blackhawks' three-time 40-goal scorer Tony Amonte
(left), who signed a five-year, $14.5 million deal in 1997,
fired agent Rich Scimone. Amonte is clearly underpaid by NHL
standards....

With the Flyers down two games to none, Philly coach Craig
Ramsay made a pair of outstanding moves that paid off: He
replaced center Keith Primeau on the No. 1 line with Daymond
Langkow and dressed veteran defenseman Adam Burt instead of
rookie Mark Eaton. With Langkow between them, John LeClair and
Mark Recchi finally generated offense (10 points in three games
after being held scoreless the first two matches) while the
31-year-old Burt provided a steady influence on the backline....

Look for the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets to sign 25-year-old
free-agent right wing David Vyborny, who played in Europe last
season. Another free agent Columbus is pursuing is forward
Jonathan Schill, who had 39 goals for the Kingston Frontenacs of
the Ontario Hockey League.

COLOR PHOTO: BOB ROSATO