Month: January 2009

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Randy Carlyle found a lot to like in the Ducks’ all-around play.”Tonight was our best team effort that we’ve had,” the Anaheim coach said after a 2-0 victory over Phoenix on Sunday night.

OTTAWA – James van Riemsdyk scored the overtime winner as the United States beat the Czech Republic 3-2 in the fifth-place match at the world junior hockey championships Sunday.

CHICAGO – Nikolai Khabibulin made 34 saves, Martin Havlat, Andrew Ladd and Patrick Sharp each had a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks rebounded from consecutive losses to Detroit to beat Calgary 5-2 on Sunday night.

OTTAWA – Canada’s chances of winning a fifth gold medal at the world junior hockey championship Monday are less if the team continues its trend of giving up four or five goals each game.

NEWARK, N.J. – The New Jersey Devils signed Brian Rolston to quarterback the power play. The move is paying off now.Back up to speed after an ankle injury, Rolston scored a power-play goal 1:43 into overtime to give the Devils a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night.

ATLANTA – The Tampa Bay Lightning are no longer a last-place team or winless in Atlanta for nearly two years.Martin St. Louis scored twice, and Mike Smith made 27 saves to help the Lightning move out of the Southeast Division basement with a 4-1 victory over the Thrashers on Sunday night.

OTTAWA – It has been nearly three decades since Sweden won gold at the world junior hockey championship, but the team in the blue and gold Tre Kroner jerseys feel the drought is about to end.

TORONTO – As family, friends and teammates grieve the death of a 21-year-old Ontario hockey player who died three weeks after hitting his unprotected head on the ice during a fight, debate over events leading to his death continued Sunday – debate one hockey commentator said isn’t delving deep enough.

MONTREAL – Andrei Markov scored the lone goal in the shootout as the Montreal Canadiens twice gave up two-goal leads in the third period but held on to beat the Florida Panthers 6-5 for their fourth win in five games on Sunday.

TORONTO – The pursuit of a playoff spot and the looming arrival of crunch time for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators has put some of the animosity back into the Battle of Ontario.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – As well as the San Jose Sharks played for the first half of the game, coach Todd McLellan was more concerned about the lackadaisical way his team finished.

LOS ANGELES – For someone who had never faced a penalty shot or competed in an NHL shootout, 22-year-old Jonathan Quick did quite a fine job against the Philadelphia Flyers.

EDMONTON – Dwayne Roloson made 38 saves as the Edmonton Oilers started off a crucial five game homestand on a strong note, defeating the Dallas Stars 4-1 in a battle between two teams trying to re-enter the playoff picture on Saturday night.

HAMILTON – Matt Beleskey scored a late power-play goal in the third period as the Iowa Chops beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 in AHL action Saturday.

OTTAWA – Team Canada’s vaunted power play turned luke warm, but they still found a way to win.
The hard-working Russians held Canada to 1-for-9 with the man advantage and nearly caused an upset at the world junior hockey championship until Canada’s Jordan Eberle scored his second goal of the game with less than six seconds to play and then scored again in the shootout for a 6-5 win in the semifinals on Saturday night.

WINNIPEG – Michel Ouellet scored both a power-play goal and a short-handed marker for the Manitoba Moose on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Rochester Americans (11-22-0-3).

ST. LOUIS – After four extremely stingy games, Steve Mason looked like a rookie.The Blues’ special teams cooled off the Blue Jackets’ rookie goalie, accounting for all of St.

TORONTO – The struggles continue for the Ottawa Senators.A 3-1 loss to provincial rival Toronto on Saturday night – in which the Senators had several scoring opportunities, but were repeatedly denied by Maple Leafs goaltender Vesa Toskala – dropped Ottawa to 13-18-5 on the season.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A groin strain is exactly the type of injury that most goalies dread. The type that lingers. The type that can derail a season in a heartbeat.

OTTAWA - Canada reached the final of the world junior hockey championship for an eighth straight year with a thrilling 6-5 shootout win over Russia in Saturday’s semifinal.