Jim McIsaac, Getty Images Devils interim coach Lou Lamoriello looks on against the Islanders Dec. 21 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. The Islanders defeated the Devils, 4-2. Click photo for larger image.

No one could say New Jersey president and general manager Lou Lamoriello had no experience behind an NHL bench before he took over as interim coach when Larry Robinson abruptly quit Monday.

Lamoriello coached one game, the fifth of the 1988 Wales Conference final, while filling in for Jim Schoenfeld, who was suspended after his famous confrontation with referee Don Koharski during which he called Koharski a "fat pig" and suggested he "have another doughnut."

So, understandably, Lamoriello knew what to worry about after Robinson surprised him with his resignation, citing stress.

"My biggest concern was, do the skates fit?" Lamoriello, 63, said after a practice in which he wore blue suit pants.

Actually, Lamoriello is just lending a slight guiding hand and allowing the assistants to handle most of the technical stuff while he searches for a replacement for Robinson.

The Devils split their first two games after Robinson's departure, and the players described it as odd to have Lamoriello on the bench.

"You're not used to seeing him," goaltender Martin Brodeur said of Lamoriello, who is considerably smaller than the towering Robinson.

"Every time I looked over to the bench, if everybody was sitting down, I could see him."

A Zhamnov sighting

After making a case for himself as bust of the year, Alexei Zhamnov showed a glimmer of life Thursday by getting his first goal of the season.

Boston signed him to a three-year contract and is paying him $4.1 million this season, but Zhamnov, 35, has been a major disappointment and one of the reasons the Bruins are last in the Northeast Division and looking up at the playoff cutoff.

His goal Thursday came in his 17th game of the season and the 800th of his career. It stood up as the winner in a 4-1 victory against Toronto.

"I probably put more pressure on myself than anyone because I want to help this team," he said. "If you don't produce offensively, it's frustrating. I think a lot of people are probably disappointed by the way I've played.

"But the last few games, I think I've played better. I hope to continue to play at the same level and help this team."

Zhamnov has seven points in his 17 games.

"He's one of our go-to guys, and we need him to get going," Boston's leading scorer, Sergei Samsonov, said. "Hopefully, now, it will come in bunches."

General manager Mike O'Connell, who was desperate enough to trade Joe Thornton earlier this season, must certainly hope Samsonov is right.

Not going quietly

Being left off the United States Olympic team certainly didn't quiet Jeremy Roenick.

The Kings' center had warned that it would be a "travesty" if he was not selected. Monday night, after he was not on the announced roster, he got fired up.

First, he had a goal and an assist in Los Angeles' 4-3 shootout win against Vancouver. Then, he put his mouth on the offensive again.

"I'm one of the guys that have gotten the USA to where it is today," said Roenick, 35, who was on the U.S. silver medal team in 2002 and the non-medal team in 1998.

"To not have the opportunity to go back one more time and try and win the gold is, obviously, in my opinion, very disrespectful. They can beat me down and say I'm over the hill or say that I don't have it anymore, but, to me, I know that I do."

Roenick had six goals, 13 points in 32 games for the Kings entering the weekend and career totals of 481 goals, 1,133 point in 1,156 NHL games.

Just after the selection announcement, Team USA general manager Don Waddell was asked about Roenick's earlier comments.

"I really took it as a compliment for the fact that I can really appreciate how much he wanted to be part of this team, along with a lot of other players," Waddell said. "He felt that from the years he's [participated], he should be part of the team. But, at the end of the day, we felt we had 13 better forwards than Jeremy at this point."

A day after finding out he was not going to the Olympics, Roenick found out a finger injury will keep him sidelined about a month.

Getting his Finns' worth

When he was traded to Dallas, forward Niklas Hagman became one of four Stars from Finland, something that adds special meaning to the holidays for him.

"Well, Santa Claus is from Finland, so we definitely take a great pride in that around Christmas season," Hagman said in an online questerion and answer. "Santa Claus is from Lapland in the far north of Finland, and there's a famous Santa Claus village up there that a lot of people go to see. David Beckham and Madonna have been there, so it's a pretty big deal.

"We don't decorate our homes as much as Americans do for Christmas, but we do decorate the city streets probably even more. Christmas is definitely a big holiday in Finland."

Hagman planned to spend the Christmas weekend with his new Finn teammates.

Gretzky watch

Former Penguin Rick Tocchet stepped in as interim coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, and Team Canada finalized and announced its 2006 Olympic roster without executive director Wayne Gretzky, who took a leave to be with his family in Ontario.

Gretzky's mother, Phyllis, died Monday night of lung cancer. She was 64.