Offense On Downside At Nhl Midpoint

Reaching the halfway point of the season normally calls for serious study of where teams are headed as playoff time approaches.

But as the National Hockey League lurched past the midpoint of this lockout-shortened season, only a few trends were obvious. Foremost was the decline in scoring, which was down from 6.7 goals a game after 310 games last season to 5.8 through Sunday.

Except for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who started 12-0-1, and the Quebec Nordiques, who were 13-2, inconsistency has been the rule. No other team won more than five consecutive games or had an unbeaten streak longer than six games. Of last year’s playoff semifinalists, only the New York Rangers (13-10-3) lead their division, and they struggled for the first month. The Toronto Maple Leafs reached .500 last week.

Devils, Lightning swap

The struggling New Jersey Devils continued their search for the right lineup Tuesday, acquiring defenseman Shawn Chambers and forward Danton Cole from Tampa Bay for center Alexander Semak and right wing Ben Hankinson.

New Jersey and Tampa Bay are both playing below .500 hockey.

Quebec on the rise

The Quebec Nordiques, who have not lost consecutive games, are scoring in bunches. Joe Sakic, who has 36 points, second to Pittsburgh’s Jaromir Jagr, and Wendel Clark are a potent pair. Quebec also has cut its goalsagainst average from 3.45 last season to 2.42.

The Penguins were deep enough to jockey with the Nordiques for the Northeast lead despite losing Tom Barrasso, Mario Lemieux and Kevin Stevens. Bravo to Ron Francis, Joe Mullen and second-line center John Cullen.