In The Crease

One of the better moves at the trade deadline was made by Panthers general manager Bryan Murray, who obtained reliable two-way center Mike Sillinger from the Lightning for center Ryan Johnson and forward Dwayne Hay. Sillinger has given Florida much-needed grit and a face-off specialist, something the team sorely lacked....

Linesmen will tell you that they are getting hit with more pucks than ever before. The reasons are l) with expansion there are more players, especially defensemen, lacking skill, and they tend to panic and fire the puck along the boards without looking, and 2) the glass along the half-boards in many of the new arenas is much higher than in the old buildings, keeping linesmen from grabbing the glass and hoisting themselves out of harm's way....

Speaking of officials, the league must improve the travel schedule, for its referees. Last week, for example, Bill McCreary worked three games on consecutive nights in New York, Atlanta and Buffalo....

Credit Islanders general manager Mike Milbury with a smart decision on 20-year-old rookie goaltending phenom Roberto Luongo, who was sent to the minor leagues on March 1. Mil-bury realized that his rebuilding team, which was 22-46-8-1 through Sunday, was going to have a difficult final six weeks of the season. Instead of keeping Luongo on the parent club and risking having his confidence shattered, Milbury took the safe road with his highly regarded prospect....

Last month Canadiens defenseman Eric Weinrich played three games with a hairline fracture in his left foot without disclosing the injury to anybody on the team, even Montreal's training staff. On March 22, however, the bone became displaced, and he could no longer bear weight on the foot, forcing him out of the lineup for the rest of the season.