Month: February 2009

ATLANTA – Ilya Kovalchuk got his 10th goal in eight games, and the Atlanta Thrashers had two short-handed goals to break a four-game home losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

BOSTON – Rookie fourth-line winger Byron Bitz scored his second and third NHL goals Tuesday night, leading the struggling Bruins to a 6-1 win over the Florida Panthers in the opener of Boston’s six-game homestand.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 34 shots – including 26 through the first two periods – keeping the Anaheim Ducks in the playoff hunt with a 3-2 win over the injury-depleted Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.

WASHINGTON – Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter scored two of Philadelphia’s three goals in a 3 1/2-minute span of the third period Tuesday night as the Flyers rallied to beat Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Tuesday night.

The city of Glendale, Ariz., has been quietly bailing out the money-losing Phoenix Coyotes for several months, according to documents obtained by a Phoenix television station.

CANONSBURG, Pa. – The puck is going into the net a lot more since the Pittsburgh Penguins changed coaches, reconfigured their offence and adapted a more aggressive, go-get-’em system.

WASHINGTON – The Washington Capitals are reaching out to women.The Capitals have started Club Scarlet, which the team says is the NHL’s first female fan club and is free to join.

LONDON, Ont. – Former NHL referee-in-chief Bryan Lewis says fighting in hockey is on the way out.Lewis was part of a Violence in Hockey Symposium staged Tuesday by the Middlesex-London Health Unit, a gathering of hockey officials, coaches, media members and a former professional player at the London Convention Centre.

DENVER – Paul Stastny is set to make his return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup.The Avalanche activated the young centre from the injured reserve list before Tuesday night’s game at Atlanta.

NEW YORK – John Tortorella made his presence felt right away during his first day as coach of the New York Rangers.He went to work on the practice rink Tuesday morning, along with new assistant coach Jim Schoenfeld, as they worked to change the philosophy and tenor of a team that is struggling to hold onto a place in the playoffs.

CANONSBURG, Pa. – Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has left practice early because of a sore groin, but is listed as probable for Wednesday night’s home game against the New York Islanders.

Scoring summary from Monday’s NHL game:First PeriodNo Scoring.Penalties – Lundqvist Dal (holding stick) 6:25, San Jose bench (too many men; served by Setoguchi) 8:55, Turco Dal (tripping; served by Ott) 17:22.

DALLAS – The San Jose Sharks got a perfect shot from Devin Setoguchi and perfect goaltending from Evgeni Nabokov.Setoguchi scored with 12:05 remaining, Nabokov stopped 29 shots for his 45th career shutout, and the Sharks extended their winning streak to four games with a 1-0 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night.

Movements in the world of hockey Monday:National Hockey LeagueFLORIDA PANTHERS-Assigned G Chris Beckford-Tseu to Phoenix (AHL).LOS ANGELES KINGS-Recalled RW Teddy Purcell from Manchester (AHL).

DALLAS – Dallas Stars centre Mike Modano missed Monday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks due to the flu.Modano, the all-time leader among U.

CALGARY – Todd Bertuzzi has proven his worth in clutch situations for the Calgary Flames in this NHL season.Bertuzzi tallied his second game-deciding goal in a shootout this season as the Flames edged the Oilers 3-2 in Edmonton on Saturday night.

It’s been a long time since NHL general managers entered a trade deadline with this much uncertainty.There is just over a week to go until the big day and no one seems too sure what March 4 will bring.

MONTREAL – Roberto Luongo will never forget his last visit to Montreal with the Vancouver Canucks.It was two seasons ago in January 2007, and during practice the day before a game against the Canadiens he was struck on the throat by a shot from teammate Daniel Sedin.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Chicago Wolves goaltender Ondrej Pavelec was named American Hockey League player of the week Monday.In four appearances last week, Pavelec went 3-1-0 with a 1.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Some of Canada’s top musicians will trade in their guitars for neck guards when they take on a team of ex-NHL players next month at the annual Juno Cup, in the lead up to the Juno Awards.