Month: April 2008

VANCOUVER – There’s no word for hockey puck in Mandarin.So Jason Wang, who’s been calling the Montreal-Boston series of the NHL playoffs in his native Chinese language for the CBC – a first for the public broadcaster – just uses the Mandarin word for ball.

DENVER – The Minnesota Wild kept on insisting all they had to do to take the series back home was clone their effort and energy from Game 5, because, really, there was absolutely no way Jose Theodore could duplicate his fantastic performance in the net.

DENVER – Jose Theodore and the Colorado Avalanche withstood another onslaught from the relentless Minnesota Wild for a series-clinching 2-1 win Saturday night.

DENVER – Minnesota defenceman Nick Schultz returned to the Wild’s lineup Saturday night for Game 6 at Colorado, less than two weeks after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.

BOSTON – Marco Sturm scored the winner with only 2:37 left in regulation to cap a wild third period, and the Boston Bruins handed the Montreal Canadiens a 5-4 loss Saturday to force a Game 7 in their first-round playoff series.

CALGARY – Peering outside at the blizzard conditions Saturday morning, the Calgary Flames must have thought it was December again.”Feels like Christmas, doesn’t it?” quipped Flames left-winger Alex Tanguay after practice Saturday as he prepared to head out into the cold wind chills and 10-15 centimetres of snow that had recently fallen.

BOSTON – Saku Koivu will be back in the Montreal Canadiens lineup for Game 6 of their series against the Boston Bruins.The captain has missed more than three weeks with a fractured bone in his left foot but said he felt good enough after Saturday’s morning skate to play later in the evening.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nashville Predators say their difficult season has made them stronger. They now have what might be their final chance to prove that’s true.

NEWARK, N.J. – The New Jersey Devils opened the season with a new coach, a new arena and a relatively new identity.Ending the campaign with an embarrassing first-round playoff loss to the rival New York Rangers is going to bring about more changes next year.

DALLAS – The Anaheim Ducks are fully aware of how poorly Stanley Cup champions have defended their titles lately.And, sure, they realize how close they’ve already come to adding to that sad history, having faced deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 in their first-round series against the Dallas Stars.

WASHINGTON – Mike Knuble is out for the rest of the Philadelphia Flyers’ series against the Washington Capitals after tearing his left hamstring in Saturday’s Game 5 loss.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins are quickly getting used to this: Playoff hockey where the only energy they expend is clicking the TV remote control.

NEW YORK – Sean Avery easily brushed off Martin Brodeur’s snub in the handshake line following the New York Rangers’ five-game, opening-round playoff win against the New Jersey Devils.

WASHINGTON – The young Washington Capitals finally seem to be getting the hang of this thing called playoff hockey.With just the right mix of brawn and skill, the Capitals stayed alive Saturday by knocking the Philadelphia Flyers off stride early and holding onto the lead with another solid game from goaltender Cristobal Huet, winning 3-2 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

Scoring summaries from Friday’s NHL playoff games:Rangers 5 at Devils 3First Period1. New Jersey, Gionta 1 (Zajac, Zubrus) 4:402. N.Y. Rangers, Rozsival 1 (Jagr) 4:583.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf each had a goal and an assist to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-2 victory over Dallas on Friday night and trim the Stars’ lead in the first-round series to 3-2.

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:National Hockey LeagueANAHEIM DUCKS – Re-assigned RW Bobby Ryan to Portlant Pirates (AHL).American Hockey LeagueAHL-Suspended Portland RW Mike Hoffman for one game for his actions in a game on April 17.

NEWARK, N.J. – After five games of running into, harassing and annoying Martin Brodeur, Sean Avery took a final swipe at the New Jersey goalie after the New York Rangers eliminated the Devils in the first round of the playoffs.

SYRACUSE, NY. – Joakim Lindstrom fired the game-winner 30 seconds into overtime to give the Syracuse Crunch a 2-1 victory against the Manitoba Moose Friday in Game 1 over their AHL best-of-seven series.