Articles by Doug Stolhand

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nashville Predators say their difficult season has made them stronger. They now have what might be their final chance to prove that’s true.

BOSTON – Saku Koivu will be back in the Montreal Canadiens lineup for Game 6 of their series against the Boston Bruins.The captain has missed more than three weeks with a fractured bone in his left foot but said he felt good enough after Saturday’s morning skate to play later in the evening.

NEW YORK – Sean Avery easily brushed off Martin Brodeur’s snub in the handshake line following the New York Rangers’ five-game, opening-round playoff win against the New Jersey Devils.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins are quickly getting used to this: Playoff hockey where the only energy they expend is clicking the TV remote control.

WASHINGTON – Mike Knuble is out for the rest of the Philadelphia Flyers’ series against the Washington Capitals after tearing his left hamstring in Saturday’s Game 5 loss.

WASHINGTON – The young Washington Capitals finally seem to be getting the hang of this thing called playoff hockey.With just the right mix of brawn and skill, the Capitals stayed alive Saturday by knocking the Philadelphia Flyers off stride early and holding onto the lead with another solid game from goaltender Cristobal Huet, winning 3-2 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

Scoring summaries from Friday’s NHL playoff games:Rangers 5 at Devils 3First Period1. New Jersey, Gionta 1 (Zajac, Zubrus) 4:402. N.Y. Rangers, Rozsival 1 (Jagr) 4:583.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf each had a goal and an assist to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-2 victory over Dallas on Friday night and trim the Stars’ lead in the first-round series to 3-2.

Movements in the world of hockey Friday:National Hockey LeagueANAHEIM DUCKS – Re-assigned RW Bobby Ryan to Portlant Pirates (AHL).American Hockey LeagueAHL-Suspended Portland RW Mike Hoffman for one game for his actions in a game on April 17.

NEWARK, N.J. – After five games of running into, harassing and annoying Martin Brodeur, Sean Avery took a final swipe at the New Jersey goalie after the New York Rangers eliminated the Devils in the first round of the playoffs.

SYRACUSE, NY. – Joakim Lindstrom fired the game-winner 30 seconds into overtime to give the Syracuse Crunch a 2-1 victory against the Manitoba Moose Friday in Game 1 over their AHL best-of-seven series.

TORONTO – The Toronto Marlies learned the hard way that sloppy play simply doesn’t fly in the spring.The Marlies committed far too many turnovers and the San Antonio Rampage took advantage by downing Toronto 6-3 in Game 2 of their best-of-seven North Division semifinal.

DETROIT – Johan Franzen scored 1:48 into overtime, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators and a 3-2 lead in their first round series.

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators went through a range of emotions and only one team liked the lasting feeling.Johan Franzen scored 1:48 into overtime, lifting Detroit to a 2-1 win over Nashville and a 3-2 lead in their first-round series.

NEWARK, N.J. – The New York Rangers rocked the New Jersey Devils’ house like no team and rolled right into the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

NEWARK, N.J. – The New York Rangers rocked the New Jersey Devils’ house like no team and rolled right into the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

NEWARK, N.J. – It took only two years for the New York Rangers to turn a four-game sweep into a sweet five-game payback for the New Jersey Devils.

VOORHEES, N.J. – Jeff Carter does it all. He kills penalties, plays on the power play, defends the opponent’s top scorer and mixes in plenty of offence.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – No regrets, and no plans to change a thing.Colorado’s credo after winning Game 5?Nope. It’s the Minnesota Wild’s insistence after losing it.