Month: May 2008

DETROIT – The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings are scoreless going into the first intermission of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on Saturday night.

DETROIT – Goalie equipment will keep shrinking if NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has his way.In his annual state-of-the-sport news conference prior to Game 1 of the championship series on Saturday night, Bettman said he expects greater progress will be made now that the NHL Players’ Association in-house problems appear to have been remedied.

DETROIT – The two teams that hit the ice for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on Saturday night were built largely through excellent draft picks.

Results Friday:AHLCalder Cup PlayoffsConference Finals(Best-of-7)Eastern ConferenceWilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 Portland 3 (OT)(Series tied 3-3)W.

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Right-winger Darren Haydar scored a game-winning power-play goal late in regulation Friday as the Chicago Wolves beat Toronto 4-2 to eliminate the Marlies and earn their first berth in the American Hockey League Calder Cup championship series since 2005.

DETROIT – The Mule was kicking and skating on Friday, but Johan Franzen isn’t quite ready to rejoin the Detroit Red Wings lineup yet.Franzen, who leads the NHL with 12 playoff goals in only 11 games, has been out with recurring headaches and concussion-like symptoms since Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

DETROIT – Surely, even in their wildest dreams, the NHL’s power brokers could not have possibly believed just three years after a major facelift to the game the result would be a Stanley Cup final this appetizing.

DETROIT – Surely, even in their wildest dreams, the NHL’s power brokers could not have possibly believed just three years after a major facelift to the game the result would be a Stanley Cup final this appetizing.

DETROIT – The young legs of the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the experience of the Detroit Red Wings is a compelling storyline in the Stanley Cup final.

DETROIT – Gary Roberts tried to bite his tongue on the eve of the Stanley Cup final, visibly upset after Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Michel Therrien told him he wouldn’t be in the lineup for the opening game Saturday night.

DETROIT – A federal jury on Friday rejected a request to award former Detroit Red Wings defenceman Vladimir Konstantinov and a former team masseur nearly US$300 million for a 1997 limo crash that left them with disabling brain injuries.

DETROIT – For the Detroit sports fan who insists on having it all – and being in there in person to see it – this is sweet agony.On Saturday, there will be the oddest of doubleheaders – Peguins versus Red Wings at downtown Joe Louis Arena at 8 p.

DETROIT – A lawyer for ex-Detroit Red Wings defenceman Vladimir Konstantinov and a former team masseur has asked a federal jury to award them nearly US$300 million for a 1997 limo crash in suburban Detroit that left them with disabling brain injuries.

Results Thursday:2008 Memorial Cup Canadian Major Junior ChampionshipAt Kitchener, Ont.No Games Scheduled.AHLCalder Cup PlayoffsConference Finals (Best-of-7)Eastern Conference Wilkes-Barre/Scranton vs.

Movements in the world of hockey Thursday:National Hockey LeagueATLANTA THRASHERS-Agreed to terms with F Rylan Kaip and D Arturs Kulda.CAROLINA HURRICANES-Agreed to terms with F Harrison Reed on a three-year contract.

WINNIPEG – Veteran captain Mike Keane has re-signed with the Manitoba Moose, the club announced Thursday.The Winnipeg native will return for a fourth season with the American Hockey League affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, marking his 21st season in professional hockey.

MONTREAL – It’s being billed as an eventual rival to the National Hockey League based across the pond in Europe, but the man behind a new Russian hockey league set to launch this September has modest goals to start.

DETROIT – Nicklas Lidstrom is on the cusp of hockey history.The Swedish defenceman would be the first European captain to win a Stanley Cup if the Detroit Red Wings get past Pittsburgh.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild signed defenceman Maxim Noreau to a multi-year deal on Thursday.Noreau had eight goals and eight assists in 50 games for Houston of the AHL last season.