Articles by Doug Stolhand

ST. LOUIS – After four extremely stingy games, Steve Mason looked like a rookie.The Blues’ special teams cooled off the Blue Jackets’ rookie goalie, accounting for all of St.

TORONTO – The struggles continue for the Ottawa Senators.A 3-1 loss to provincial rival Toronto on Saturday night – in which the Senators had several scoring opportunities, but were repeatedly denied by Maple Leafs goaltender Vesa Toskala – dropped Ottawa to 13-18-5 on the season.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A groin strain is exactly the type of injury that most goalies dread. The type that lingers. The type that can derail a season in a heartbeat.

OTTAWA - Canada reached the final of the world junior hockey championship for an eighth straight year with a thrilling 6-5 shootout win over Russia in Saturday’s semifinal.

TAMPA, Fla. – Joni Pitkanen and Justin Williams each had a goal and an assist, and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied from an early two-goal deficit for a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.

TORONTO – Alexei Ponikarovsky’s go-ahead goal midway through the third period lifted the Toronto Maple Leafs to a spirited 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators in a gritty instalment of the Battle of Ontario on Saturday night.

WASHINGTON – Alex Ovechkin showed why his coach thinks it’s silly the NHL’s reigning MVP was not voted an all-star starter.Ovechkin’s tiebreaking short-handed goal with a half-minute left in the second period lifted Washington past the New York Rangers 2-1 Saturday night, extending the Capitals’ winning streak to a season-high six games.

NEW YORK – Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry has been suspended for four games without pay for elbowing Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux during the third period of Friday night’s game, the NHL announced Saturday.

TORONTO – A huge game from Max Taylor ensured the Toronto Marlies left home on a happy note. The centre couldn’t help but show just how pumped up he was after scoring his first career American Hockey League hat trick.

OTTAWA - The Swedes were in no mood to let themselves become plucky Slovakia’s second upset victim in a row.
Mikael Backlund scored two goals as Sweden found an answer to Slovak goaltender Jaroslav Janus and scored four times in the final period of a 5-3 victory in the semifinals of the world junior championship on Saturday afternoon.

WASHINGTON – Alex Ovechkin is the NHL’s reigning MVP and scoring champion, and he entered Saturday second in the league in goals and points.So how is it possible, Ovechkin’s coach with the Washington Capitals wants to know, that the left wing was not voted in as a starter for the all-star game?”It’s dumb,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said before Washington hosted the New York Rangers on Saturday night.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Todd Bertuzzi scored with 23.4 seconds remaining in the third period to lead the Calgary Flames to their fifth straight win with a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon.

PITTSBURGH – Nathan Horton scored twice and the Florida Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday that sent the Penguins to their fourth straight loss.

BOSTON – A little-known player and few big misses put an end to Boston’s longest winning streak in nearly 26 years.Recent call-up Matt Ellis scored his second and third goals of the season to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-2 win over Boston on Saturday, snapping the Bruins’ 10-game winning streak and handing them their first home loss since late October.

MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens are going to bring a hometown feel to the NHL all-star game.Four Habs players have been voted in as starters for the game, which will be held Jan.

NEW YORK – Ratings increased 12 per cent in the U.S. for the NHL’s third outdoor game, which featured the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Philadelphia Flyers stumbled at the start of the season, losing their first six games. Now they’re tied for first place with the New York Rangers in the contentious Atlantic Division, and they don’t plan on looking back.

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:National Hockey LeagueBUFFALO SACRES-Sent C Nathan Gerbe to Portland (AHL).CALGARY FLAMES-Assigned LW Brett Sutter to Quad City (AHL).

DENVER – Kristian Huselius scored twice and Steve Mason won his fourth straight despite having his shutout streak halted at three games and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat Colorado 6-1 on Friday night.