Articles by Doug Stolhand

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Anaheim Ducks have rediscovered what makes their power play tick. And just in time for their belated playoff push.Ryan Getzlaf scored twice with the man advantage in the third period, Scott Niedermayer and rookie Andrew Ebbett also had power-play goals, and the Ducks beat the Phoenix Coyotes 6-2 on Sunday night for their fourth victory in five games

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Milan Michalek scored the San Jose Sharks’ eventual winning goal on a graceful give-and-go sequence. It looked much like many other big scoring plays by the overall NHL leaders this season, except for the unlikely identity of the giver

NEW YORK – One section of sold-out Madison Square Garden was pulling for the also-ran Ottawa Senators against the playoff hopeful New York Rangers

CHICAGO – Getting forward Patrick Sharp back in the lineup and getting a lead helped the Chicago Blackhawks snap their longest winless streak of the season

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Owen Nolan is doing his best to get the Minnesota Wild into the playoffs.Nolan scored two goals to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 3-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday

BOSTON – The Boston Bruins’ lead in the Eastern Conference was fading but coach Claude Julien didn’t talk to them about the importance of beating the team threatening to take it away

PITTSBURGH – The Philadelphia Flyers used the power play to go a long way toward securing home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs

Maple Leafs 5 at Canadiens 2First Period1. Toronto, Kulemin 11 (Ponikarovsky, Grabovsky) 7:512. Toronto, Grabovsky 18 (Ponikarovsky, Schenn) 8:14Penalties – Finger Tor (roughing) 8:14, Pacioretty Mtl (hooking) 11:58, Schenn Tor, Mitchell Tor, Lapierre Mtl (roughing), Komisarek Mtl (double roughing) 20:00

GLENDALE, Ariz. – At this point of the season, the Phoenix Coyotes don’t want to be in a position to further embarrass themselves.Deep in the Western Conference and out of the playoff picture, the Coyotes took advantage of a rare national television audience – on CBC’s “Hockey Night in Canada” – to put together a solid 60 minute effort, and beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1

ROCKFORD, Ill. – Antti Niemi shut the door in the shootout as the Rockford IceDogs beat the Manitoba Moose 3-2 in AHL play Saturday.Niemi stoned Moose shooters Mark Cullen, Mike Keane and Jason Krog, while at the other end Jack Skille, Tim Brent and Pete MacArthur scored shootout goals for the IceHogs

CHICAGO – Brock Trotter scored the shootout winner and Marc Denis made 36 saves as the Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Chicago Wolves 3-2 in AHL action Saturday

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Darren Haydar’s empty-netter in the final minute of the game helped the Grand Rapids Griffins edge the Toronto Marlies 3-2 in AHL action Saturday

TAMPA, Fla. – Slava Kozlov scored the only shootout goal, and goalie Johan Hedberg stopped all three Tampa Bay tries in the tiebreaker in the Atlanta Thrashers’ 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Saturday night

OTTAWA – Forget first impressions, the Ottawa Senators are trying to give their fans a lasting one.After spending much of the season at the

SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida goalie Tomas Vokoun stopped shot after shot on Saturday night, holding Columbus scoreless through two periods and much of the third

RALEIGH, N.C. – The defence did everything for the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night, from scoring to shutting down the Washington Capitals’ potent offence

NEW YORK – It all came together for Ryan Callahan.The New York forward scored two goals Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres, a team in close pursuit of his Rangers and the club he grew up rooting for in Rochester

MONTREAL – Nikolai Kulemin got just the gift he wanted for his newborn son Alexei – a goal and a big victory over the Canadiens in Montreal.Kulemin had a goal and two assists while linemates Alexei Ponikarovsky and Mikhail Grabovski had four points each as the Toronto Maple Leafs played playoff spoiler with a 5-2 victory over the slumping Canadiens on Saturday night

TORONTO – CBC personality Don Cherry used his “Coach’s Corner” segment on Saturday’s “Hockey Night in Canada” to criticize Washington Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin for what he felt was an excessive celebration of his 50th goal earlier this week

The NHL suspended Chicago Blackhawks forward Ben Eager for three games Saturday.Eager was penalized for delivering a blow to the head of Edmonton’s Liam Reddox in the third period of the Oilers’ 5-4 victory Friday night