Lightning/NHL

Slapshots

By TOM JONES
Published April 16, 2006

OIL SLICK: The Oilers have been part of four sweater retirements this season. They hosted Paul Coffey's number retirement in Edmonton. They were in Phoenix when Thomas Steen has his number retired. They were in New York for the marathon Mark Messier Night. And they were in St. Louis when the Blues raised Al MacInnis' jersey to the rafters.

And the Oilers lost all four games.

"We were everybody's favorite guest," coach Craig MacTavish told the Edmonton Journal.

RAISE THE ROOF: Get a load of the Wild's Stephane Veilleux. Last week, Veilleux scored on a breakaway and immediately got in a shoving match with Chicago's Radim Vrbata. Neither is the toughest nail in the toolbox and after some pushing and jawing, Veilleux finally dropped the gloves and began pounding on Vrbata, who wanted no part of a fight.

After the linesmen separated them, Veilleux raised his arms like one of the Hanson Brothers and gave the old "raise-the-roof" gesture while high-fiving fans down the runway to the locker room.

"That was priceless," teammate Marian Gaborik told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press.

Wild coach Jacques Lemaire didn't think so and gave Veilleux a better jab than Vrbata did.

"I don't like it," Lemaire said. "You don't do that. First of all, he hasn't won the fight. The other guy didn't fight."

[Last modified April 16, 2006, 00:42:15]