Month: March 2010

CALGARY – The Flames’ fading playoff hopes got a boost Wednesday night as Calgary’s Miikka Kiprusoff made 29 saves in a 2-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes

DENVER – Jason Blake had a goal and four assists, Saku Koivu added a goal and three assists and the Anaheim Ducks kept their slim playoff hopes alive while dealing a setback to Colorado’s with a 5-2 victory over the Avalanche on Wednesday night

DALLAS – Steve Ott had three goals for his first career hat trick, scoring short-handed early in the first period and adding even-strength and power-play goals in the Dallas Stars’ 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Antti Niemi made 21 saves for his seventh shutout of the season and third in seven games and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t recognize some of the Tampa Bay players. Worse still, the Penguins didn’t recognize their own game against an opponent they figured to beat

MONTREAL – Cam Ward kept the Hurricanes in it long enough to allow Eric Staal to score the winner in the third period, and Carolina hampered the Montreal Canadiens’ playoff chances with a 2-1 victory Wednesday

Jason Pominville scored his team-leading 24th goal and the Buffalo Sabres inched closer to clinching the Northeast Division title with a 6-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Florida Panthers left wing Rostislav Olesz has missed the team’s game against the Buffalo Sabres because of a nagging hand injury

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Phoenix Coyotes have signed defenceman Chris Summers, one of their two first-round draft picks in 2006, to an entry level contract

PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin will miss his fifth consecutive game and seventh in his past eight because of a bruised right foot

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Henrik Sedin had a short-handed goal and two assists Tuesday to lead the Vancouver Canucks closed in on a playoff berth with a 4-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes

TORONTO – Toronto head coach Ron Wilson likes what he sees in a trio of Maple Leafs players dubbed the “frat pack.”Wilson, who felt his team was listless through the first half of Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers, overhauled his line combinations, including a creation that featured Tyler Bozak between Viktor Stalberg and Christian Hanson

NASHVILLE – One day after being recalled from Manchester of the American Hockey League, Jonathan Bernier made 34 saves to record his first career shutout and lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night

ST. LOUIS – Alex Steen had two goals and an assist and scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, helping the St. Louis Blues keep alive faint playoff hopes and hand the slumping Chicago Blackhawks their seventh loss in nine games with a 4-2 victory Tuesday night

WASHINGTON – Alex Kovalev scored a power-play goal 4:42 into overtime – his first point since the Olympic break – and the Ottawa Senators beat the Washington Capitals 5-4 on Tuesday night for their fifth consecutive win

DETROIT – Brad Stuart scored with 1:07 left to lift the Detroit to a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night after the Red Wings blew a 4-0 second-period lead

Patrice Bergeron scored on a rebound with 18.3 seconds left in overtime and the Boston Bruins maintained their hold on the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with a 1-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Rick Nash scored twice, including the winner, and the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated Tampa Bay 3-2 on Tuesday night.Nash scored on the second of four consecutive power plays in the first 12 minutes of the final period to break a 2-2 tie

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Vinny Prospal, Olli Jokinen and Marian Gaborik scored second-period goals, and Marc Staal got the winner early in the third to lift the New York Rangers to a comeback 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night

TORONTO – Nik Antropov picked the perfect time to get his first career goal against his former team, scoring the winner Tuesday in Atlanta’s 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs to keep the Thrashers’ playoff hopes alive