Month: February 2010

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Anton Khudobin acknowledged feeling a little nervous at the start of his sudden NHL debut.He sure didn’t show it.Martin Havlat’s first two-goal game for Minnesota, and Khudobin’s flawless emergency goaltending gave the Wild a 4-2 win over Edmonton 4-2 on Thursday night for their 12th straight home victory over the Oilers

OTTAWA – The goals keep going in for Jason Spezza and the wins keep piling up for the Ottawa Senators.Spezza scored the game-winner and extended his team-record goal-scoring streak to eight games as the Senators beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Thursday night

ST. LOUIS – Patrick Marleau scored in the opening minute, keeping pace with Alex Ovechkin for the NHL scoring lead. The rest of the game was every bit as successful for the San Jose Sharks

BOSTON – If Jaroslav Halak had his way, he wouldn’t have to face 40 shots. But when it happens, the Montreal goalie is tough to beat.Halak is 7-0 in games he’s faced 40 shots or more this season, making 45 saves and three more in the shootout Thursday night to carry the Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over the free-falling Bruins, losers of nine straight

TAMPA, Fla. – Tampa Bay is turning production from its top offensive players into victories.Martin St. Louis scored in his fifth consecutive game, Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist and the Lightning beat the New York Islanders 5-2 on Thursday night

NEW YORK – As if the Washington Capitals needed any more help while streaking through the NHL schedule, when they go for win No. 13 in a row against Atlanta, they won’t even have to face Ilya Kovalchuk

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Everywhere there were players laughing and smiling.Along the back wall of the dressing room, Steve Mason was wearing a goofy-looking hard hat, a symbol that maybe the Columbus Blue Jackets were ready to finally laugh away their troubles and get down to the work of turning their season around

NASHVILLE – NHL linesman Steve Barton tried to avoid Nashville defenceman Alexander Sulzer along the right boards during the first period, lost his footing and slammed down backward hard, bouncing the back of his head on the ice

According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, defenseman Sheldon Souray has supplied Oilers GM Steve Tambellini with a list of at least six teams he’d be willing to waive his no-trade clause to join

Atlanta Thrashers superstar Ilya Kovalchuk has been traded to the New Jersey Devils.

The Devils have given up defenseman Johnny Oduya, forwards Niclas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier and a first round pick

TORONTO – If Canada makes it to the gold-medal game at this month’s Vancouver Olympics it’s doubtful it would be more historically significant than the 1972 Summit Series, says Prime Minister Stephen Harper

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Phoenix Coyotes recalled centre Joel Perrault from their AHL affiliate in San Antonio on Thursday after he cleared re-entry waivers

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A day after he was fired as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ken Hitchcock declined to take any parting shots at the club’s management and said he is eager to see how the franchise’s young talent develops

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Jonas Hiller is making it easy for the Anaheim Ducks to quickly forget about traded goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere.Hiller made a season-high 46 saves on Wednesday in a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, which extended the Ducks’ home winning streak to nine games in the NHL

Defencemen Ryan Whitney and Tim Gleason have been named to the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team bound for Vancouver, jumping into the fray less than two weeks before the country’s first game at the tournament

DALLAS – Financially strapped owner Tom Hicks is exploring a possible sale of the Dallas Stars.The Hicks Sports Group said Thursday the NHL team has retained Galatioto Sports Partners to look for new investors and explore the idea of selling a majority stake in the Stars

DULUTH, Ga. – The Atlanta Thrashers are exploring “all of our options” after hitting an impasse in contract negotiations with star forward Ilya Kovalchuk, general manager Don Waddell said Thursday

TORONTO – Following weeks of attempted rehabilitation on his injured shoulder, Mike Komisarek has officially ended his debut season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, opting for surgery that will also prevent him from playing in the Vancouver Olympics

As first reported by THN.com last week, the sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning is on the verge of completion. – The sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning to Boston-based hedge fund manager Jeffrey Vinik is all but complete and is expected to be announced within days, multiple sources confirmed to THN

By R.J. Riley

Former Canadiens tough guy Georges Laraque has put a different pair of gloves on and is ready to get to work, but this time it’s more personal than ever