Month: September 2008

ST. LOUIS – Andy McDonald, Lee Stempniak and Brad Boyes each had a goal and an assist to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars in a pre-season game Tuesday night.

ROBERVAL, Que. – Tomas Plekanec scored two goals as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in pre-season action Tuesday.Plekanec put Montreal on the board at 10:25 of the first period.

TAMPA, Fla. – Top pick Steven Stamkos scored his first goal, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in a pre-season game on Tuesday night.

MONCTON, N.B. – Rookie Trevor Smith scored in overtime as New York beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Tuesday in the Islanders’ first pre-season game of the year, played in Moncton, N.

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues defenceman Erik Johnson’s right knee injury may be more serious than it initially seemed.Johnson will be out indefinitely with a torn ACL and MCL, the team announced Tuesday.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Peter Budaj has the net all to himself, no Jose Theodore standing in his way.The Colorado Avalanche allowed the free-agent Theodore to bolt for Washington on the presumption that Budaj was prepared to step in.

PITTSBURGH – Kris Beech, a forward acquired by Pittsburgh in a trade for Jaromir Jagr, was among 13 players sent down by the Penguins to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL on Tuesday.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Former Ottawa Senators general manager John Muckler has been hired by the Phoenix Coyotes as the team’s senior adviser to the GM.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason will miss the next 4-6 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday.

TORONTO – Vesa Toskala noticed the first change almost immediately after returning to Toronto from his summer vacation.Suddenly, the No. 1 goalie for the Maple Leafs started getting recognized all over the city, something that didn’t happen much during his first season with the team.

EDMONTON – If Erik Cole proves to be as good a fit on the ice as he already has in the dressing room, the Edmonton Oilers will have found themselves a bargain.

EDMONTON – If Erik Cole proves to be as good a fit on the ice as he already has in the dressing room, the Edmonton Oilers will have found themselves a bargain.

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Jordan Leopold just couldn’t stay healthy last season, with one affliction after another knocking the Colorado Avalanche defenceman out of commission.

LOS ANGELES – Oscar Moller scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 1:17 remaining and had two assists, leading the Los Angeles Kings to a 6-4 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday night in a rare NHL split-squad pre-season game.

EDMONTON – Jason Krog’s shootout goal proved to be the winner as the Vancouver Canucks knocked off the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in the opening pre-season game for both teams on Monday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An organist played Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” as the fans streamed into the Sprint Center an hour before the opening faceoff, many in St.

TAMPA, Fla. – Tyler Kennedy scored a tiebreaking power-play goal early in the third period to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in a pre-season game on Monday night.

TORONTO – Fans getting their first look at the Toronto Maple Leafs under new coach Ron Wilson must have liked what they saw.The team was strong on the forecheck in building a lead on Monday night before getting some good goaltending from Justin Pogge during a 7-4 pre-season win over the Buffalo Sabres.

PHILADELPHIA – Steve Downie scored two goals and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 in the pre-season opener for both teams Monday night.

NEW YORK – Petr Nedved’s long shot chances at a comeback with the New York Rangers got a bit of a boost.The 36-year-old forward, who hasn’t played an NHL game since the 2006-07 season, scored a first-period goal Monday night in the Rangers’ 2-1 pre-season victory over the Ottawa Senators in front of a sparse crowd at Madison Square Garden.