Bob McManaman
Oct. 26, 2003
© The Arizona Republic; Includes information from other media sources.

Tyson Nash likes to call him Big Moose. Another nickname fits a lot better these days for Shane Doan, Nash's good friend and teammate on the Coyotes.

Try Puck Hog.

But wait, that's not such a bad thing.

After his first six games this season, Doan had fired 29 shots on goal, enough to rank among the five most prolific shooters in the NHL. It's totally by design, too.

Doan, who plays the left point on Phoenix's first power-play unit in addition to seeing regular duty as right wing on the club's No. 2 line, knows the simple formula in the NHL: The more you shoot, the more you score.

"That's definitely something I'm working on and definitely something I want to do this year," the Coyotes captain said. "You look every year at the guys who score all the goals, and they're the guys who usually have the most shots.

"So yeah, that's something I'm definitely concentrating on."

At his present average, Doan is on pace for 396 shots -- 65 more than last season's league leader, Boston's Glen Murray.

"I think I can easily get a few more shots a night," Doan said, "just by pulling the trigger a little quicker instead of looking away."

Alumnus uproar-us

Give Denis Potvin props for standing up and saying what a lot of folks have been mumbling under their breaths for years now: The New York Islanders haven't reached back to their roots to cultivate their future on Long Island.

Potvin, a three-time Norris Trophy winner for the Isles as they were preparing for a four-year Stanley Cup run, criticized the club for having only two players from that era in significant roles.

That's not good enough for Potvin, who notes that several former Islanders stars still reside in the area and could help foster a sense of pride.

What if?

It has been 17 years now, and Penguins superstar Mario Lemieux still hasn't reached the 1,000 games-played milestone, thanks to chronic back problems, a retirement and a bout with cancer.

As he zeroes in on becoming just the sixth player ever to hit the 1,700-point mark, it's worth remembering what Lemieux has meant to the game.

"In my eyes, after watching him all these years and having the benefit of growing up watching so many other people that are Hall of Famers, to me he's the greatest player I've ever seen," Penguins GM Craig Patrick told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "It's too bad he couldn't play healthy all the time, because he'd be up there with Wayne Gretzky."