Puck Podcast

MONTREAL – It looks like Sergei Kostitsyn will start the season in the American Hockey League.The Montreal Canadiens assigned the winger to their farm club in Hamilton on Sunday afternoon

WASHINGTON – The Washington Capitals scored four unanswered goals on Sunday and then held off a third-period comeback by the New York Rangers for a 4-3 win in the final pre-season game for both teams

Wayne Gretzky quit, Joe Sakic retired, Chris Pronger exited east, and six teams changed head coaches.Whew, the pot sure has been stirred in the NHL’s Western Conference

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs returned forward Nazem Kadri to the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League on Sunday.The Leafs also assigned forward Christian Hanson and defenceman Jonas Frogren to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, and released defenceman Andy Rogers

MONTREAL – The pre-season games are over and now the Montreal Canadiens will get down to the business of getting to know each other.The Canadiens will spend Monday through Wednesday at Teen Ranch, a Christian country retreat in Caledon, Ont

It is a rare year that the NHL does not tinker with at least one or two of its rules, but for the 2009-2010 season there is nothing new for referees to call

LAS VEGAS – Anze Kopitar scored on a penalty shot in the third period to help the Los Angeles Kings beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 on Saturday night in front of 11,263 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the 12th annual Frozen Fury exhibition

CALGARY – Miikka Kiprusoff and Roberto Luongo gave fans a glimpse of the type of goaltending that could be on display Thursday night when the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks open the regular season

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Ilya Bryzgalov made 27 saves and Martin Hanzal scored 15 seconds into the third period to help the Phoenix Coyotes beat the San Jose Sharks 2-0 Saturday night in pre-season finale for both teamss

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Eric Staal had a power-play goal and an assist to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Nashville Predators 5-2 in exhibition play Saturday night

DALLAS – Chris Mason made 29 saves and Brad Winchester and Derek Armstrong scored first-period power-play goals in the St. Louis Blues’ 5-0 exhibition victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Anaheim Ducks have released forward Kyle Calder and defenceman Jassen Cullimore in one of their final cutdowns before the regular season

NEWARK, N.J. – Martin Brodeur made 21 saves and Dainius Zubrus scored his first goal of the pre-season in the New Jersey Devils’ 1-0 exhibition victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night

TORONTO – The Monster has made his impact with the Toronto Maple Leafs.Jonas Gustavsson stopped all 15 shots he faced in his first pre-season game at Air Canada Centre to help the Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Saturday night

BOSTON – Raffi Torres scored one third-period goal and then set up Nikita Filatov with the go-ahead tally Saturday night, lifting the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-2 pre-season victory over the Boston Bruins

MONTREAL – Greg Stewart scored in the third period as the Montreal Canadiens posted a 3-2 comeback victory over Buffalo and handed the Sabres their first loss of the NHL pre-season on Saturday night

DETROIT – Hockey Canada executive director and Detroit Red Wings vice president Steve Yzerman plans to call Wayne Gretzky to find out his plans for the future

EDINBURGH, Scotland – Ryan Russell scored twice and added two assists as the Hamilton Bulldogs hammer the Belfast Giants 7-0 in the semifinal of the Gardiner Cup hockey tournament Saturday

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Thrashers assigned nine players, including forwards Joey Crabb and Jason Krog, to AHL Chicago on Saturday.Crabb had nine points in 29 games with Atlanta last season