Eastern conference. (NHL).(hockey)

Atlantic Division

NEW JERSEY DEVILS: G Martin Brodeur says there is no doubt his team misses the offensive potential RW Alexander Mogilny took with him to Toronto. The Devils' lack of scoring has been so bad that coach Larry Robinson has had to break up his No. 1 line of Jason Arnott, Patr Sykora and Patrik Elias several times to spread around the offense. No help is coming from the minors, so look for G.M. Lou Lamoriello to obtain some by trading his best bargaining chip: disgruntled C Bobby Holik.... The Devils' one-on-one defense isn't yet up to snuff, mainly because young D Andrai Zyuzin and Mike Commodore are learning on the job.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS: C Alexei Yashin has been forced to work with inconsistent Ws Mariusz Czerkawski, Oleg Kvasha and Brad Isbister, and that's why the names of Blackhawks RW Tony Amonte and Bruins RW Bill Guerin have come up in trade rumors. A package of G Rick DiPietro, LW Ram Torres and Isbister for either Amonte or Guerin is an offer most teams can't beat.... D Roman Hamrlik, Kenny Jonsson and Adrian Aucoin each log more than 25 minutes per game, but the team needs another dependable defenseman.

NEW YORK RANGERS: D Vladimir Malakhov, who was a big disappointment when he missed all of last season after signing a four-year, $14 million contract, has been a solid partner for D Brian Loetch, offensively and defensively.... When word of LW Jan Hlavac's trade from the Flyers to the Canucks hit the wires, Rangers fans wondered whether G.M. Glen Sather might be interested in reuniting Hlavac with Czechmate linemates Petr Nedved and Radek Dvorak because most of this team's offense comes from the Eric Lindros-Theo Fleury-Mike York line. This team needs another line.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: Who is that $9 million impersonator in LW John LeClair's uniform? The Flyers thought LeClair would rebound to his 40-goal form with Jeromy Roenick as his center. Coach Bill Barber ended Roenick's struggles by putting him with LW Simon Gagne, but what about LeClair? ... RW Mark Recchi is playing the point on the power play because this club doesn't have enough defensemen who can handle the puck capably.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Only four teams have scored fewer goals than the Penguins. This team has missed Mario Lomieux and Martin Straka because of injuries, sure, but when the season began, everyone knew goals would be at a premium, and youngsters Jan Hrdina, Aleksey Morazov, Milan Kraft and Kris Beech would have to chip in offensively to replace some of Jaromir Jagr's goals. But none of the youngsters has delivered.

Northeast Division