Articles by Doug Stolhand

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Kurtis Foster leaned on his crutches, his pale face showing about 10 fewer pounds, and beamed about his first time out of the hospital or the house in three weeks.

LOS ANGELES – Jason Reitman, Lauren Conrad, Dierks Bentley and Kevin Smith are among the celebrities who will blog about their love of hockey on the National Hockey League’s website.

WASHINGTON – Sergei Fedorov knows how it feels to win the Stanley Cup.So simply qualifying for the NHL playoffs shouldn’t be that big of a deal, right? Actually, being a part of the Washington Capitals’ worst-to-first surge was a thrill for Fedorov, and not just because neither he nor his new team hadn’t participated in the postseason since 2003.

HARBIN, China – Canada secured a berth in the gold-medal game at the women’s world hockey championship Wednesday and Finland hopes the Canadians can do the same for them.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Beaten up last April by the eventual NHL champions, the Minnesota Wild have some playoff experience to build on a year later.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Michael Leighton of the Albany River Rats captured the Aldege (Baz) Bastien Memorial award Tuesday as the AHL’s top goaltender this season.

If Canada becomes the first country in more than 20 years to win the IIHF World Hockey Championship on home soil, the experience from last year’s tournament in Russia will be part of the reason why.

MONTREAL – The Boston Bruins would do well to stay out of the penalty box when they face the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL playoffs.One clear advantage Montreal will hold over the Bruins when their best-of-seven Eastern Conference series begins on Thursday night is special teams.

NEWARK, N.J. – Stopping Jaromir Jagr, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury isn’t the biggest task facing the New Jersey Devils in their first-round playoff series with the New York Rangers.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Detroit is the team Predators fans love to hate. They don’t call them the Chicken Wings for nothing. Yet ask the Predators players about their division rival, and all anyone will acknowledge is respect.

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby would have never admitted this a year ago but on the eve of his second NHL playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar centre revealed just how awestruck he and his young teammates were when the puck first dropped last spring in Ottawa.

VOORHEES, N.J. – Flyers forward Daniel Briere practised on Tuesday for the first time since he injured his knee in a collision last week at Pittsburgh, and the star centre said he’s confident he’ll be ready to play against Washington.

CALGARY – Since their improbable 2004 Stanley Cup run, the Calgary Flames have invested heavily in their defence corps.And it’s that group that will have to be catalysts if the seventh-seeded Flames have any shot of upsetting the No.

EDMONTON – After rocking the boat a year ago with offer sheets to restricted free agents Thomas Vanek and Dustin Penner, Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe sees smoother sailing ahead this off-season.

The core players who helped Canada win gold at last year’s IIHF world hockey championship will be back this year.Forwards Rick Nash, Shane Doan, Eric Staal, Jonathan Toews and goaltender Cam Ward are among the first group of players who have committed to playing for Canada next month in Halifax and Quebec City.

OTTAWA – The playoffs are a fresh start for the Ottawa Senators after they slipped down the stretch, but they still face the same questions over their goaltending as they did in the regular season.

Hockey Canada will name 15 players to its World Championship team Tuesday afternoon and there will be no shortage of star quality among the group if early returns are any indications.

Movements in the world of hockey Monday:National Hockey LeagueATLANTA THRASHERS-Reassigned C Bryan Little and D Boris Valabik to Chicago (AHL) and D Chad Denny to Gwinnett (ECHL).

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Wild defenceman Nick Schultz underwent an appendectomy Monday night, two days before they open a playoff series.The team said the operation was successful and Schultz was resting comfortably at a Twin Cities hospital.