Articles by Doug Stolhand

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Tim Connolly scored twice and Ryan Miller made 36 saves in the Buffalo Sabres’ 3-1 win over Carolina on Saturday night that sent the Hurricanes to their fifth straight loss.

WASHINGTON – Alexander Semin’s third-period goal gave the Washington Capitals a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.Semin took the puck at the Capitals’ blue-line, streaked down the ice, and fired a shot past goalie Tim Thomas at 11:48.

TAMPA, Fla. – Lightning rookie Steven Stamkos was out of the lineup for the second time in five games Saturday night against the Florida Panthers as part of an ongoing program to increase his physical strength.

BUFFALO – Buffalo Sabres defenceman Andrej Sekera will be out for at least two weeks with an ankle injury.Coach Lindy Ruff said the team will evaluate Sekera, 22, in at least a couple of weeks – “or maybe longer” – after Chicago forward Dustin Byfuglien checked the Slovak into the boards in Buffalo’s loss to the Blackhawks on Wednesday.

WHITBY, Ont. – It’s hockey night in Whitby, Ontario, but tonight’s game has special meaning to community residents and to the Whitby Dunlops.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus Blue Jackets claimed goaltender Wade Dubielewicz off waivers from the New York Islanders on Saturday and assigned goaltender Dan LaCosta to the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse.

DALLAS – Mike Ribeiro scored the lone goal in the shootout, Marty Turco stopped all three shots he saw in the tiebreaker and the Dallas Stars beat Los Angeles 3-2 Saturday to extend the Kings’ skid to four.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings activated Jack Johnson from the injured reserve list Saturday after the defenceman missed 41 games because of a shoulder injury.

PHILADELPHIA – Simon Gagne hated the mornings he would wake up with that familiar pounding headache.He couldn’t even blame a night of revelry.

EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers traded goaltender Mathieu Garon to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday in exchange for netminder Dany Sabourin, forward Ryan Stone and a fourth-round pick in the 2011 NHL entry draft.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired goaltender Mathieu Garon from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Ryan Stone, goaltender Dany Sabourin and a fourth round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

NEW YORK – Just as no kid wants to walk through the halls of high school with a “kick me” sign taped to his back, NHL teams have gone to new lengths this season to eliminate inviting targets and protect injured players.

DENVER – Shawn Horcoff broke a tie with 6:35 left, and Mathieu Garon made 37 saves in the Edmonton Oilers’ 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.

HOUSTON – Corey Locke, Morten Madsen and Matt Beaudoin all scored for Houston in the shootout as the Aeros topped the Toronto Marlies 3-2 in American Hockey League action Friday.

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:National Hockey LeagueCOLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS-Activated LW Raffi Torres from injured reserve.PITTSBURGH PENGUINS-Recalled F Janne Pesonen from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

CHICAGO – The New York Rangers put on a special-teams clinic at the Chicago Blackhawks’ expense.Chris Drury scored his second power-play goal of the game at 2:23 of overtime, tipping in Wade Redden’s shot to give the Rangers a 3-2 victory Friday night.

HAMILTON – Loic Lacasse stopped 28 shots for his second shutout of the season as the Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Lake Erie Monsters 4-0 in AHL action Friday.

ATLANTA – Newcomer Rich Peverley scored the winning goal for the Atlanta Thrashers, then credited Ilya Kovalchuk with the victory.Peverley scored by knocking in a rebound of Kovalchuk’s shot with 1:09 left in overtime to give the Thrashers a 4-3 comeback victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night.

SUNRISE, Fla. – A different approach to shootouts worked out well for Simon Gagne, Antero Niittymaki and the Philadelphia Flyers.Gagne scored the only goal in the shootout, and Niittymaki stopped all three Florida shooters in the Flyers’ 3-2 victory Friday night.