Articles by Doug Stolhand

TORONTO – The Tampa Bay Lightning might not be 29th in the 30-team NHL if they got to play the Maple Leafs more often.A 4-1 victory Thursday night improved their record against Toronto this season to 3-0

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Antoine Vermette has never missed the playoffs. The Columbus Blue Jackets have never made them.One of those streaks is about to end

BOSTON – Aaron Ward hopped out of the penalty box and found himself on a breakaway.He was more familiar with the former than the latter. “I’ve never scored on a breakaway

PHILADELPHIA – Alex Ovechkin stood alone on the ice in front of the Philadelphia net waiting for the puck.Great positioning for the reigning MVP, big mistake for Philadelphia

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Despite a big win over a team Buffalo is battling with in the Eastern Conference playoff race, Sabres forward Thomas Vanek knows there are plenty of games left before the final post-season seedings are decided

NEWARK, N.J. – During his 15-year career, Martin Brodeur has played for Stanley Cups, Olympic gold medals and world championships.A relatively easy 26-save performance on Thursday night in the New Jersey Devils’ 5-2 win over the hapless Phoenix Coyotes has put Brodeur in position to return home to Montreal and play for something just as important – Patrick Roy’s NHL mark for career wins by a goaltender

NEW YORK – Alf Pike, a member of the New York Rangers’ 1940 Stanley Cup championship team, who later coached the club has died. He was 91.Pike, who spent six seasons as a Rangers player and two as coach, died March 1 in Calgary

According to a report in the Calgary Herald the Flames are likely going to find a new home for their American League affiliate.
Currently, the Quad City Flames represent Calgary’s farm team out of Illinois

The Edmonton Oilers have activated captain Ethan Moreau from the injured reserve list.He’s been sidelined since Feb. 28 when he took a stick in the eye during a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild

Peter Pocklington’s California tax lawyer says the former owner of the Edmonton Oilers is the innocent victim of a vengeful witch hunt by a legal system on a crusade against corporate crime

AHL Syracuse 3 Toronto 1 Albany 5 Norfolk 3Binghamton 5 Worcester 2Iowa 2 Chicago 1Milwaukee 3 Rockford 2Springfield 3 Hershey 2 (SO)Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 8 Philadelphia 5ECHL Victoria 9 Ontario 4Alaska 5 Phoenix 0Idaho 2 Utah 1 (SO)Mississippi 3 South Carolina 2 (SO)Reading 4 Wheeling 2IHL Kalamazoo 3 Bloomington 2 (SO)Central Arizona 4 Amarillo 2QMJHL P

Lightning 2 at Senators 3 (OT) First Period1. Tampa Bay, Murphy 4 (Lecavalier, St. Louis) 2:37 (pp)2. Ottawa, Shannon 3 (Spezza, Alfredsson) 4:53 (pp)Penalties – Bell Ott (tripping) 1:44, Artyukhin TB, Donovan Ott (unsportsmanlike) 2:37, Welch TB (hooking) 4:02, Artyukhin TB (double minor roughing, misconduct), Ruutu Ott (roughing) 8:36, Malone TB (closing hand on puck) 12:41, Petiot TB (hooking) 19:07

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Scott Niedermayer scored at 3:37 of overtime, and the Anaheim Ducks got vital contributions from newcomers Erik Christensen, Ryan Whitney and Petteri Nokelainen to beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 on Wednesday night

CHICAGO – Kris Versteeg broke a tie in a shootout and the Chicago Blackhawks beat Carolina 3-2 on Wednesday night to end the Hurricanes’ winning streak at four games

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Kevin Lalande made 32 saves to backstop the Syracuse Crunch to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday night in AHL action

OTTAWA – Mike Fisher scored the winning goal at 2:38 of overtime Wednesday night as the Ottawa Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2

CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks have activated goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin from injured reserve and sent goalie Antti Niemi to Rockford of the AHL

COLUMBUS, Ohio – As if it’s not enough to beat teams on the ice or in the standings, coach Ken Hitchcock knows his Columbus Blue Jackets also must overcome the perception that they’re still a bunch of lovable losers

TORONTO – A study led by York University says bodychecking in youth hockey leagues is associated with an increased risk of injury to players

NAPLES, Fla. – Gary Bettman would be happy to sit down with Georges Laraque and talk about fighting.The NHL commissioner thinks he might be able to convince the Montreal Canadiens tough guy that rule changes proposed by general managers this week aren’t actually so bad for enforcers