Articles by Doug Stolhand

LOS ANGELES – Ryan Smyth scored two goals to help the Los Angeles Kings to a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.The Kings took a three-goal lead in the first period on scores by Smyth, Anze Kopitar and linemate Justin Williams

EDMONTON – Three games in and the Edmonton Oilers have already been burned twice by the rival Calgary Flames.Olli Jokinen scored the shootout winner Thursday as the Flames earned their second dramatic comeback victory in Edmonton this season with a 4-3 win

ST. LOUIS – Returning from a triumphant season-opening Sweden trip, the St. Louis Blues had a dud of a home opener. The Atlanta Thrashers had a lot to do with that

TAMPA, Fla. – Travis Zajac helped make sure a strong outing by Martin Brodeur was not wasted.Zajac scored with one second left in regulation, and the New Jersey Devils went on to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night

NASHVILLE – Nashville coach Barry Trotz reminded his team at the end of the second period of the need to react the right way under pressure. The Predators needed only one period to prove they listened well

PHILADELPHIA – Alex Goligoski said it was the easiest goal of his young career – and for good reason.Goligoski and Bill Guerin scored midway through the second period to help the Pittsburgh Penguins hand the Philadelphia Flyers their first loss of the season, 5-4 on Thursday night

WASHINGTON – The New York Rangers are thrilled with off-season pickup Marian Gaborik’s production so far: four goals in four games, all in the third period

DETROIT – Chris Osgood predicts the reshaped Detroit Red Wings will end up contending for the Stanley Cup with a new emphasis on defence to make up for the scoring they lost in the off-season

OTTAWA – With much of the focus in Ottawa on the New York Islanders’ budding star John Tavares, it was a less-heralded rookie suiting up for the Senators who played the starring role

BOSTON – With one minute left and Anaheim’s first victory seemingly secure, Teemu Selanne turned to coach Randy Carlyle and asked: “Why is Corey Perry out there killing penalties?”By the time Selanne looked back at the ice, Perry had scored

As long as the Phoenix Coyotes kept taking penalties, the Buffalo Sabres weren’t going to get frustrated about being unable to solve goalie Jason LaBarbera

NASHVILLE – Josh Sacco does a pretty spot-on impersonation of actor Kurt Russell as U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks from the movie “Miracle

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues are honouring Al MacInnis with a statue depicting the Hall of Fame defenceman loading up for a booming slap shot

CHICAGO – Chris Chelios could be back on the ice Monday, skating with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.The 47-year-old Chelios, a Chicago native, was not re-signed by the Detroit Red Wings after last season

TORONTO – The NHL has handed out a one-game suspension to San Jose Sharks forward Brad Staubitz.During a game on Tuesday, Staubitz hit Davis Drewiske of the Los Angeles Kings after the defenceman had touched the puck for an icing

OTTAWA – John Tavares can hardly believe how fast time flies, neither can New York Islanders teammate Doug Weight.Making his Canadian NHL debut Thursday in Ottawa, Tavares, the highly-touted Islanders’ rookie, remarked how it feels like just yesterday that he was helping Canada win the gold medal at the world junior hockey championship at Scotiabank Place

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings signed veteran forward Brad May to a one-year contract on Thursday.The 37-year-old left-winger split last season between Anaheim and Toronto, recording a goal and six assists with 89 penalty minutes in a total of 58 games

VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Vancouver Canucks have sent forward Sergei Shirokov to the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose.The 23-year-old Russian appeared in his first three NHL games over the last week and didn’t register a point

ATLANTA – Atlanta Thrashers defenceman Boris Valabik is expected to miss four to six weeks after having surgery to repair a high ankle sprain

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus Blue Jackets have picked up left-winger Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for future considerations