Month: October 2008

Kale Kerbashian scored 1:55 into overtime as the London Knights survived a five-goal rally by the Erie Otters to earn a 6-5 win in Ontario Hockey League action Saturday night.

In terms of goal production this season, it truly was a David versus Goliath situation on Saturday night at the Pacific Coliseum.And unlike the children’s fable, the Giants won it this time – by a wide margin.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Steven Reinprecht scored twice and rookie Viktor Tikhonov added a short-handed goal to lead the Phoenix Coyotes to a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in their pre-season finale Saturday night.

BOSTON – Jonathan Sim tipped home a shot by defenceman Thomas Pock with 6:01 left Saturday, lifting the New York Islanders to a 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins in a pre-season game.

ATLANTA – St. Louis centre Andy McDonald finished the pre-season with an NHL-best 13 points, scoring his fourth goal and adding an assist to help the Blues beat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-1 on Saturday night.

MONTREAL – Niklas Backstrom made 25 saves and Stephane Veilleux continued his strong pre-season with a goal and an assist to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 3-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens Saturday at the Bell Centre.

TORONTO – A potential comeback by the Toronto Maple Leafs evaporated as quickly as it came.After rallying from a two-goal deficit early in the third, the Leafs ultimately fell 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night in pre-season NHL action before 18,878 fans at the Air Canada Centre.

NEWARK, N.J. – Brian Rolston and David Clarkson scored power-play goals in the second period for the New Jersey Devils, who finished their pre-season schedule with a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.

Thrashers goaltending prospect Ondrej Pavelec won’t report to the Chicago Wolves of the American League, his agent told Sporting News Saturday.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Markus Naslund came through in his debut with the New York Rangers even though he wasn’t the star Czech fans had hoped to see.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Tyler Kennedy scored his second goal with 25 seconds left in overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in the first NHL regular-season opener in Sweden on Saturday night.

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks assigned defenceman Nolan Baumgartner to Manitoba of the AHL and lost defenceman Nathan McIver on waivers to the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.

NEW YORK – Martin Brodeur relaxed in the middle of a midtown Manhattan hotel and marvelled at the NHL talent walking past.It wasn’t so much the number of fine hockey players that impressed him on pre-season media day, it was their youth.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Markus Naslund and Brandon Dubinsky scored to lift the New York Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday as the NHL’s opened its season in Europe for the second straight year.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes signed 2008 first-round pick Zach Boychuk to a three-year, entry-level contract Saturday.The centre, selected 14th overall, led all Western Hockey League players with 13 playoff goals last season, helping Lethbridge win the Eastern Conference title before losing to Spokane in the final.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Teemu Selanne scored three goals to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-1 pre-season victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday night.

CALGARY – Former Oiler Curtis Glencross scored 2:22 into overtime Friday night as the Calgary Flames won 4-3 over Edmonton in an entertaining battle between the two provincial rivals.

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:National Hockey LeagueANAHEIM DUCKS-Assigned F Bobby Ryan to Iowa (AHL).BUFFALO SABRES-Assigned F Nathan Gerbe, F Tim Kennedy, F Dylan Hunter, F Marek Zagrapan, D Chris Butler and D Michael Funk to Portland (AHL).

DENVER – Dustin Byfuglien and Martin Havlat both scored two goals, and Patrick Kane added three assists as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-4 on Friday night in a pre-season game.