Month: February 2010

SUNRISE, Fla. – Roberto Luongo joked that he played the angles perfectly after the goal-starved Florida Panthers hit six posts.Luongo made 31 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen scored second-period goals in the Vancouver Canucks’ 3-0 victory over the Panthers on Thursday night

OTTAWA – It wasn’t quite up to all-star game levels, but the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals did their best to take defence out of hockey Thursday night

RALEIGH, N.C. – A defender falls down at the wrong time, and seconds later, the puck is in the net and the game is over. The Carolina Hurricanes finally are catching the breaks that for so long went the other way

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers have traded centre Dominic Moore to the Montreal Canadiens for a second-round draft pick in 2011.Moore, signed by the Panthers as a free agent after the start of the 2009-10 season, had eight goals and nine assists in 48 games for Florida

CHICAGO – Joel Quenneville had prepared for life after hockey knowing his playing career was winding down and he might have to leave the sport he loved

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Anaheim Ducks won’t play at home for the next three weeks, which makes the Olympic break a terrible inconvenience for a team that hasn’t lost at Honda Center since the first week in December

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom was back between the pipes on Wednesday night against Phoenix for the first time in seven games

DENVER – Kyle Cumiskey expected to find some resistance when he entered Atlanta’s zone. When he didn’t, he skated through the Thrashers and capped a big rally

ST. PAUL, Minn. – With their first trip to the playoffs since 2002 inching closer and closer to a certainty, the Phoenix Coyotes may want to find a way to face Minnesota in round one

MONTREAL – After blowing a three-goal lead in the third period against the NHL’s hottest team, it would have been easy for the Montreal Canadiens to fold

PITTSBURGH – Luckily for the Pittsburgh Penguins on a night they were outplayed by the New York Islanders for some lengthy stretches, Evgeni Malkin knows what to do when the puck finds his stick

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned forward Mike Blunden to the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse.Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson announced the move shortly after the team’s 3-0 victory over San Jose on Wednesday night

NEW YORK – Dan Ellis showed no signs of rust in a frenetic third period.Playing for only the second time in nine games, Elllis made 37 saves – including 18 in the final 20 minutes – and protected the Nashville Predators’ 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night

COLUMBUS, Ohio – It may be too late to get the Columbus Blue Jackets back in the playoff chase, but Steve Mason has suddenly solved his problems

NEWARK, N.J. – There was a time earlier this season when the Philadelphia Flyers knew a two-goal deficit was tantamount to a loss.Not anymore, and certainly not against the New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, N.J. – New Jersey and U.S. Olympic forward Zach Parise was scratched from the Devils’ game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night with an undisclosed upper body injury

NEW YORK – Rangers leading scorer Marian Gaborik missed New York’s game against Nashville on Wednesday night because of a cut on his right leg caused by the skate of teammate Henrik Lundqvist one day earlier in practice

DETROIT – Red Wings coach Mike Babcock says Niklas Kronwall will not play against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday and Tomas Holmstrom is questionable because of knee injuries

MONTREAL – With only a few days to go before the start of the Olympic hockey tournament, Russia’s Alexander Ovechkin says he’s not thinking about it yet

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom is back in the starting lineup.Coach Todd Richards said before Wednesday’s game against Phoenix that Backstrom will be taken off injured reserve and face the Coyotes