Articles by Doug Stolhand

HAMILTON – Cody Hodgson, Zach Boychuk and Jordan Eberle have only just been thrown together, yet they look as if they’ve been teammates forever.

Scoring summaries from Tuesday’s NHL games:Senators 4 at Flyers 6First Period1. Ottawa, Foligno 5 (Kelly) 5:012. Philadelphia, Carle 3 (Gratton, Kalinski) 6:333.

Movements in the world of hockey Tuesday:National Hockey LeagueCOLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS-Activated D Rostislav Klesla from injured reserve.OTTAWA SENATORS-Reassigned F Kaspars Daugavins to Mississauga (OHL) from Binghamton (AHL).

DENVER – Brett Clark nearly had a terrible birthday. Instead, he celebrated turning 32 by saving the game for the Colorado Avalanche.Clark’s interference penalty led to Phoenix’s tying goal in the final minute of regulation, but the Avalanche defenceman scored with 3:12 left in overtime to lift Colorado past the Coyotes 5-4 Tuesday night.

TORONTO – Unofficial NHL scoring leaders following Monday’s games: SCORINGG A PtMalkin, Pgh 15 43 58Crosby, Pgh 14 33 47Ovechkin, Wash 20 23 43Parise, NJ 18 22 40Savard, Bos 11 29 40J.

CALGARY – The Calgary Flames rallied for three unanswered goals in the third period Tuesday night to win 4-3 over the Anaheim Ducks.Marc Giordano assisted on the tying goal then scored the go ahead goal as the Flames improved to 19-11-4.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Captain Patrick Marleau had a goal and two assists during the Sharks’ five-goal barrage in the first 21 minutes, and Evgeni Nabokov made 33 saves to keep San Jose unbeaten in regulation at home this season with a 5-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

TORONTO – Don’t look now, but the Dallas Stars are turning it around.The Stars earned their seventh victory in their last 11 games with an 8-2 trouncing of the host Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Stephane Veilleux capped off Minnesota’s three-goal second period with a shorthanded one and the Wild held off the Carolina Hurricanes for a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night.

DETROIT – Pavel Datsyuk had two goals and an assist and Ty Conklin made 33 saves to lift the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.

SUNRISE, Fla. – Tomas Vokoun made 25 saves for his second consecutive shutout and Michael Frolik scored twice to help the Florida Panthers beat Nashville 3-0 Tuesday night.

TORONTO – It looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to start their Christmas break one day early.Dallas Stars rookie James Neal scored his first career hat trick on Tuesday as his team hammered the sluggish Maple Leafs 8-2.

NEW YORK – Through a brutal first period, nothing suggested this would be the night Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals would break out on Broadway.

PITTSBURGH – Mike Smith made 15 saves to earn his second shutout of the season, Paul Szczechura had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning picked up a rare victory by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0 on Tuesday night.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – With one strong game, Jonathan Quick greatly improved his numbers.Quick was 0-1-0 with a 4.68 goals-against average, yet easily turned away 24 shots for his first career shutout in the Los Angeles Kings’ 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.

NEWARK, N.J. – Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins got the best of the New Jersey Devils in a game that felt more like a playoff contest than a regular-season matchup.

PHILADELPHIA – Jeff Carter scored his NHL-best 26th goal, Simon Gagne got the winner late in the third period and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Ottawa Senators 6-4 Tuesday night.

DETROIT – Detroit Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood was able to practise hard during the morning skate Tuesday and won’t have to go on the long-term injured reserve list.

As far as team mottos or inspirational messages go, this one couldn’t be much simpler: “For Jim.”
However, there is nothing simple about the emotions those words will stir for the men that represent Canada at this year’s Spengler Cup.

While Pat Quinn is a coach who rewards offensive creativity, don’t expect a run-and-gun approach for Canada at the 2009 world junior hockey championships.