Month: March 2010

BOSTON – The chorus of cheering fans was a welcome change for goalie Tuukka Rask after the Boston Bruins won just their second home game in nearly three months

Scoring summaries from Satuday’s games in the NHL:Senators 4 at Stars 5First Period1. Ottawa, Fisher 22 (Spezza, Alfredsson) 1:06 (pp)2. Dallas, Richards 20 (Robidas, Morrow) 13:55 (pp)3

AHL Lake Erie 3 Abbotsford 2Toronto 4 Hamilton 3 (SO)Springfield 4 Hartford 3Lowell 3 Portland 2 (OT)Manchester 4 Bridgeport 3 (OT)Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5 Rochester 4Binghamton 2 Albany 1Worcester 2 Providence 1Norfolk 3 Adirondack 1Hershey 6 Syracuse 2Chicago 6 San Antonio 3Texas 2 Rockford 0Milwaukee 3 Houston 1ECHLBakersfield 3 Victoria 2Reading 4 Johnstown 0Gwinnett 6 Trenton 4Toledo 3 Cincinnati 2Florida 5 South Carolina 3Kalamazoo 2 Wheeling 1Ontario 2 Idaho 1Alaska 3 Las Vegas 2Stockton 4 Utah 3IHLMuskegon 4 Fort Wayne 3Port Huron 6 Flint 5Quad City 3 Bloomington 2CentralTexas 4 Bossier-Shreveport 2Odessa 4 Rapid City 2Mississippi 5 Tulsa 2Allen 5 Amarillo 3Laredo 7 Wichita 4Corpus Christi 6 Rio Grande Valley 3Colorado 3 Arizona 2QMJHLPlayoffs First Round(Best-of-7)P

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings took another step toward their first playoff berth since 2002, while the New York Islanders headed home after a pair of frustrating one-goal defeats in Southern California

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Radim Vrbata and the Phoenix Coyotes did what only three teams have done – rally after two periods to beat the Chicago Blackhawks

VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Detroit Red Wings left it late on Saturday night, but gave themselves a big boost in their playoff push.Henrik Zetterberg scored in the last second of overtime as the streaking Red Wings beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3

TORONTO – Getting healthy has helped the Montreal Canadiens climb up the Eastern Conference standings, and there’s more help on the way.The Habs had their six-game winning streak snapped by a 3-2 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, but have still managed to pick up at least a point in their last seven games and are 7-1-1 since the Olympic break

NASHVILLE – This time, the Columbus Blue Jackets have Cody Franson and Pekka Rinne to thank for extending their misery in Music City.Franson scored 1:54 into overtime and Rinne posted his second straight shutout as the Nashville Predators stretched their winning streak to five games with a 1-0 victory over the Blue Jackets on Saturday night

CLEVELAND – Brian Willsie scored his second of the night with just over three minutes left in the third as the Erie Monsters beat the Abbotsford Heat 3-2 in American Hockey League play Saturday

TAMPA, Fla. – On a night Alex Ovechkin scored in his return from a two-game suspension, another NHL MVP was the player of the game.Jose Theodore made a case to be the Washington Capitals playoff goalie with 33 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night

ATLANTA – The new-look Atlanta Thrashers are showing they didn’t give up on the playoffs when they traded Ilya Kovalchuk.Colby Armstrong and Nik Antropov have helped lead a more balanced scoring attack that has the Thrashers back in playoff contention

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs believe they’re starting to build the foundation for better times ahead.Several of the youngsters stepped up again as the Maple Leafs dispatched another playoff-bound opponent, beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night

SUNRISE, Fla. – They weren’t necessarily pretty goals, but the Buffalo Sabres will take what they can get.Jochen Hecht, Patrick Kaleta and Mike Grier each scored to lift the Sabres to a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night

NEWARK, N.J. – Ty Conklin has gone from backup goalie to a key part of the St. Louis Blues’ late-season push for a playoff spot.Conklin made 29 saves in his fourth shutout of the season, and the Blues beat the New Jersey Devils 1-0 on Saturday night

TAMPA, Fla. – Alex Ovechkin has returned from a two-game NHL suspension in style, scoring in the first period for the Washington Capitals.Ovechkin scored his 45th goal of the season on Saturday night to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead 10:47 into their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning

TORONTO – Joey MacDonald downplayed his performance on Saturday afternoon, but his coach knows how valuable the goaltender is to the Toronto Marlies

DALLAS – If the Dallas Stars are to make a late run at the playoffs, their offence will need to keep clicking at the current rate.Brad Richards had two goals, Trevor Daley scored the winner, and the Stars beat Ottawa 5-4 on Saturday, handing the Senators their fifth straight defeat despite Jason Spezza’s hat trick

PITTSBURGH – Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Manny Legace was lifted in the second period Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an undisclosed injury

PITTSBURGH – There wasn’t a second to spare for Jamie McBain to beat Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh with his first NHL goal.Turns out nine-tenths of a second was all the rookie needed